Four toy wholesale shops were sued for infringement and demanded compensation for selling 'cottage' toys

by:Ennas      2022-02-05
Because the toys sold violated the other party’s intellectual property rights, 4 merchants were sued in court. On June 23, a reporter from the Shanxi Evening News learned from the Yuncheng Intermediate People's Court: In order to strengthen the effect of law popularization, the court opened a circuit court to the market to hear the case, and the merchants who were in attendance called for long knowledge. 4 merchants selling knockoff toys were sued for infringement. Li from Yuncheng opened a toy wholesale shop in a market in Yuncheng Economic and Technological Development Zone. This year, Li received a subpoena from the court and became a defendant, claiming that he had sold a toy with the cartoon character of Li and was demanded for compensation of more than 30,000 yuan. Li did not expect that selling a toy by himself would be involved in an infringement lawsuit. Selling toys is just a small business, so Li can't accept compensation for such a large sum of money at once. In a certain market, the operators of three toy stores also received a subpoena from the court. They were sued for the same reason as Li, who sold a toy in the store. After accepting the case, the judge handling the case considered that the case was representative in the case of commodity infringement disputes, and the defendants involved in the case opened stores in a certain market, so they decided to open the case in a certain market to achieve the effect of hearing the case and education. On the morning of June 21, the Yuncheng Intermediate People's Court opened a trial in Yudu Community to hear the infringement case. The defendant’s four toy shop owners sold a toy that was based on a popular cartoon, and its designer was a Korean VFX Animation Co., Ltd. The company has not authorized the development of toys based on cartoon characters, but the toy has appeared in the market. During the trial, the company’s attorney believed that: a series of trademarks of the company had a very high reputation and brand value, and the defendant sold toy products identical or similar to the plaintiff’s registered trademark at its registered business premises without permission, causing consumers to misunderstand It is believed that the plaintiff’s product or the product authorized by the plaintiff violated the plaintiff’s exclusive right to use the registered trademark, and the court is required to order the defendant to immediately stop selling, promise to sell products that infringe the plaintiff’s exclusive right to use the registered trademark, and destroy the inventory of infringing products. In addition, it requested that the defendant be ordered to compensate the plaintiff’s economic losses of RMB 30,000 and pay the plaintiff’s reasonable expenses, including notarization fees of 1,000 yuan, purchase of infringing products of 30 yuan, attorney fees, transportation and accommodation fees, etc., to stop the defendant’s reasonable infringements. The total costs are 5,000 yuan and all litigation costs of the case. The defendant stated that, as merchants, they did not know the existence of this trademark, did not understand the Intellectual Property Law, and had never had the awareness of verifying the authenticity of the trademark when purchasing goods, which led to the infringement. Since this happened, it has not only affected the business in the store, but they have also been discussed in the market. In addition, each of their stores sells this series of products for almost no more than 500 yuan, thinking that the plaintiff’s prosecution and judgment costs are too high for them to bear. At the court hearing, the judge communicated with both parties immediately. On the one hand, it actively supports the plaintiff’s claim for compensation; on the other hand, it must also consider the regional economic differences and the degree of the defendant’s subjective fault to determine the amount of compensation. The judge quickly sorted out a mediation plan, knowing the law, reasoning, and affection to both parties, so as to find a balance of interest for both parties. In the end, the defendant expressed its willingness to pay 2,000 yuan in compensation for each company and remove all infringing products from the shelves. The plaintiff's lawyers stated that they would negotiate with their clients again. Later, both the plaintiff and the defendant agreed to adopt a mediation-based solution. The trial was moved to the market. Observing the case has gained a lot. Moving the trial to the market has indeed saved us a lot of time. In the past, we had to go to the court once after mediation. Now, we can mediate and negotiate without going out of the market, which also saves our transportation costs. One defendant said after the mediation was completed. The arrival of the circuit court attracted nearby merchants to come to observe. They all want to see how this court set up at the door of the house decided the case. The judge made full use of court investigations and court debates, and finally conducted an in-depth and simple analysis of the focus of the problems of both parties in accordance with the law. A lively publicity and education class on the rule of law was given to observing operators. At the court hearing, Ms. Zhang, who participated as an observer, said that the defenses of the parties made a deep impression on her, raised her legal awareness, and popularized relevant legal knowledge. At the same time, I learned how to effectively use legal weapons to protect my legitimate rights and interests. Similar legal popularization models should be conducted more frequently, because this is the most direct and effective dissemination and will remain in the minds of business operators for a period of time. In addition to toys, many trademarks involve clothing, stationery, food and other categories at the same time when they are registered. If manufacturers, distributors and sellers do not pay enough attention to intellectual property rights, they are likely to inadvertently touch the red line of infringement. Judge Mao Songwei suggested that the majority of distributors and merchants should raise their copyright awareness, and carefully check everything from purchase to shelf. After the trial, Judge Mao Songwei led the staff of the Intermediate People's Court to various shops in a certain market, and issued leaflets about intellectual property protection, reminding merchants to confirm whether their products are sold under the genuine authorization when purchasing goods, and establish intellectual property protection Consciousness.
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