Geographical indication protection in China is not exclusively belonged to successful registration

Geographical indication protection in China is not exclusively belonged to successful registration, Geographical indication protection in China , Geographical indication protection in China conflict with trademark registration,

Geographical indication protection in China is not exclusively belonged to successful registration

After a ruling cancelling the trademark “罗曼尼·康帝” (the Chinese phonetic translation of Romanée-Conti) in China, we could see that geographical indication protection in China is not exclusively belonged to successful registration.

This lawsuit also highlights the division in legal application between the judicial system (Chinese courts) and the administrative system (CNIPA) regarding whether foreign GIs not registered in China are protected.

This opens opportunities for the expansion of international businesses to China as they can have assurance on the protection of their geographical indication.

CNIPA rejects the invalidation of “罗曼尼·康帝”

Geographical indications in China must be granted protection as collective trademarks or certification trademarks by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) or registered as GIs by the Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Affairs (“MARA”).

In 2011, an application for the trademark “罗曼尼·康帝” (the Chinese phonetic translation of Romanée-Conti) for wine and spirits in class 33 was filed with CNIPA. In January 2012, this trademark application was preliminarily approved by CNIPA and, as there were no objections, was registered under No. 9037930. In January 2017, registration No. 9037930 was transferred to a Chinese national, Wu Liping.

It’s worth noting that Romanée-Conti is renowned as one of the finest, most perfect, and most expensive wines globally. French President Emmanuel Macron once invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to drink a rare Romanée-Conti 1978 priced at £18,400. According to Sotheby’s, a bottle of Romanée-Conti from 1945 with a red Burgundy color from Côte de Nuits was sold for $558,000.

In August 2016, the French National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO) filed an application to invalidate registration No. 9037930 with TRAB (an agency under CNIPA authorized to handle invalidation requests) based on the legal basis of Article 16(1) of China’s Trademark Law of 2001, which states that “if a trademark contains a geographical indication of goods, and the place indicated is not the origin of the goods, so as to mislead the public, the trademark shall not be registered and shall be prohibited from use.”

TRAB rejected the invalidation request, stating that Romanée-Conti had not been registered as a geographical indication in China, so it could not be protected. The court overturns CNIPA’s decision.

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court accepted INAO’s lawsuit against the decision to reject the invalidation by TRAB and the annulment of TRAB’s decision. After appeals from both TRAB and the trademark owner, at the appellate level, the Beijing High Court tried the case as a first-instance trial of the Beijing Intellectual Property Court.

All courts accepted the evidence provided by INAO, including the Republic of France’s Official Gazette recognizing Romanée-Conti as a controlled designation of origin under the Decree issued on September 11, 1936.

The Beijing High Court determined that the evidence provided by INAO demonstrated that the area indicated by the name Romanée-Conti had distinct human and natural characteristics, and this name was considered a geographical indication for wine. There was a connection between Romanée-Conti and the Chinese characters “罗曼尼·康帝,” so the protected trademark violated Article 16(1) of the Trademark Law of 2001, even though Romanée-Conti had not registered as a geographical indication in China, as registering a geographical indication was not a prerequisite for requesting protection under the Trademark Law.

The ruling sheds light on the application of the law in China regarding the protection of foreign geographical indications, which could have broader implications for intellectual property rights in the country.

***Other Articles***

– You could see How To Register Trademark in China here.

– You could visit here to see Procedure of Trademark in China.

– You could visit here to check Required documents of filing trademark in China.

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