The "Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application of Punitive Damages in the Trial of Civil Cases of Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights" was released on March 3. In order to accurately understand and apply the "Interpretation" and ensure the correct implementation of the punitive damages system, the "Typical cases of punitive damages of Civil Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights" is hereby issued.
④ Case of trademark right infringement dispute between Wuliangye Company and Xu Zhonghua etc.
【Case Basics】
With the permission of the trademark registrant, Wuliangye Company exclusively used the registered trademark "
". The stores actually controlled by Xu Zhonghua have been punished by administrative penalties for selling counterfeit Wuliangye liquor and used the word "Wuliangye" without authorization. Xu Zhonghua and others were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment and other penalties for selling counterfeited "Wuliangye" and other liquor, which constituted the crime of selling counterfeit registered trademark products. When Xu Zhonghua and others were given administrative and criminal penalties for selling counterfeit "Wuliangye" products, the courts of first instance and second instance considered factors such as the mode and duration of the alleged infringement, determined that they were basically engaged in infringement, and ordered to bear twice of the punitive damages liability.
【Typical Significance】
After Xu Zhonghua was administratively punished for infringement, he committed the same or similar infringement again and was later judged by the people's court to bear criminal responsibility. Under this circumstance, the courts of first instance and second instance fully considered factors such as the duration of the alleged infringement, reasonably determined the base and multiple of punitive damages, accurately defined "serious circumstances" such as "infringement of intellectual property rights", and severely punished them by law. It effectively protects the legitimate rights and interests of intellectual property rights holders and is of exemplary significance.
