“Oriental Beauty Valley” trademark opposition case
Applicant: Fengxian District Administrative Service Center, Shanghai
Focus of the Case:
This case is typical in how to apply Article 15, Paragraph 2 and Article 32 of the Trademark Law when protecting unregistered trademarks.
The objected trademark No. 23375053 "Oriental Beauty Valley" was applied for by Shanghai Ain Star Investment Management Co., Ltd. on April 1, 2017, and was initially announced on December 20, 2017. The objector, Fengxian District Administrative Service Center, Shanghai, filed an objection within the deadline, claiming that "Oriental Beauty Valley" is the name of an industrial alliance created by the Fengxian District People's Government of Shanghai, and that the objector is responsible for brand management and protection. "Oriental Beauty Valley" is a trademark that the objector has used prior and has a certain degree of reputation. The objected party should have known this due to its geographical location and industry, and its unauthorized use of the same name as a trademark application violates the relevant provisions of Articles 15 and 32 of the Trademark Law. The State Intellectual Property Office, after review, believes that before the application date of the objected trademark, "Oriental Beauty Valley" had already gained a certain degree of reputation through large-scale preparation and promotion activities. The objector, as a competitor and a market entity geographically close, has a high probability of knowing the objector's "Oriental Beauty Valley" trademark. This constitutes the situation stipulated in Article 15, Paragraph 2 of the Trademark Law, where the applicant "knows of other relationships," and the situation stipulated in Article 32 of the Trademark Law. The objected trademark is exactly the same as the name of the "Oriental Beauty Valley" project. Its registration and use in its designated services are likely to cause relevant public confusion and misidentification. Therefore, it was decided that the objected trademark should not be registered. This case is typical in how to apply Article 15, Paragraph 2 and Article 32 of the Trademark Law when protecting unregistered trademarks.
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