The first instance judgment on the administrative dispute over the invalidation of the trademark right caused by the registration of the stage name 'beetle' as a trademark. Beijing Youth Daily reporter learned yesterday that the Beijing Intellectual Property Court rejected the plaintiff Li's appeal.
Liu Chunyan learned in 2018 that a children's training institution in Nanjing registered and used its stage name 'beetle' as a trademark. She applied to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the former State Administration for Industry and commerce to declare the 'beetle' trademark invalid and obtain support.
Li Moumou, the registrant of the 'beetle' trademark, refused to accept and filed an administrative lawsuit with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court. The focus of the dispute in the case is whether the registration of the disputed trademark infringes the prior name right claimed by Liu Chunyan on his stage name 'beetle'.
After hearing, the court held that 'beetle' belongs to both the name of the cartoon role played by a third person in the program and its stage name. The two are not either or. The key to judge whether the specific name can be used as the protection object of the prior name right is whether the relevant public can establish a stable corresponding relationship between the name and the prior obligee. The evidence on record can prove that the relevant public has established a direct pointing relationship between the 'beetle' and Liu Chunyan. The 'beetle' has a high popularity in the fields related to children's programs, and Liu Chunyan can claim the right of name on the 'beetle'. The plaintiff argued that the "beetle" was only the defense of the role name played by Liu Chunyan in the program rather than the stage name. There was no factual basis and the court did not support it.
When applying for the registration of the contested trademark, the plaintiff should be aware of the fact that 'beetle' is the stage name of Liu Chunyan, the third person, but still registered the contested trademark on the services related to the stage name, which damaged Liu Chunyan's prior name right to 'beetle'.
The registration of the contested trademark damaged Liu Chunyan's prior rights and violated the provision of Article 32 of the trademark law that "the application for trademark registration shall not damage the existing prior rights of others".
In addition, the plaintiff's claims that 'beetle' is not highly significant as a stage name, that it is well-known in the field of early education through the extensive use of 'beetle', and that the plaintiff has applied for the cancellation of the prior 'beetle' trademark according to law are not a trademark in dispute and do not constitute a defense to damage the prior name right of a third party. The plaintiff's above defense claims were not supported by the court. The first instance judgment of Beijing Intellectual Property Court rejected the plaintiff Li's claim.