Case Comment: Yinian (Shanghai) Garments Trading Co., Ltd. v. Zhejiang Taobao Network Co., Ltd. and Du Guofa

• Author: Chen Jianmin
• Pages: 285-290

CHEN (DO NOT DELETE) 2012/8/29 9:34 AM

2012] TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT 285

CASE COMMENT: YINIAN (SHANGHAI) GARMENTS

TRADING CO., LTD. V. ZHEJIANG TAOBAO NETWORK CO.,

LTD. AND DU GUOFA

CHEN Jianmin*

I. PARTIES

Plaintiff: Yinian (Shanghai) Garments Trading Co., Ltd. (衣念服

装贸易有限公司)

Defendants: Du Guofa (杜国发) and Zhejiang Taobao Network

Co., Ltd. (浙江淘宝网络有限公司)

II. FACTS

The E-Land Ltd. (hereinafter E-Land) has registered the

trademarks No. 1326011 and No. 1545520, which were both

exclusively licensed to Yinian in China.1 The garments bearing

trademark TEENIE WEENIE are popular in the clothing market, and

are regarded as a famous brand in Shanghai.

Du Guofa used the trademark TEENIE WEENIE to sell garments

at his online store on Taobao.com. It was investigated that, from

December 1, 2009 to February 1, 2010, twenty odd counterfeit

garments were sold at Du’s store, making total revenue of RMB

3,077. The retailing price for these counterfeit garments is one-fifth

or even one-tenth that of the genuine one. In addition, the

counterfeit ones were of poor quality, resulting in immeasurable

depreciation of the trademark.

Since September 2009, Yinian had lauched a large number of

lawsuits against Taobao Network Co., Ltd. (Taobao) on the ground

that the latter sold counterfeit products bearing the former’s

trademark. The courts presiding over these cases ruled to issue

seven take-down notices to the seller Du Guofa, requesting Taobao

to delete the information concerning the infringing goods issued by

him and to take effective measures, such as proactive review and

* Chen Jianmin ( 陈建民), Associate Professor of Tsinghua Law School. As a qualified

attorney, she is one of the most well-know lawyers specialized in IP rights in Beijing, exp erienced in

legal clinics and has offered legal aid voluntarily for many years.

1 Yinian Shizhuang Su Taobao、Du Guofa Qinhai Shangbiao Qinquan Jiufen An (衣念时装诉淘

宝、杜国发侵害商标侵权纠纷案) [The Trade Infringement Case of Yinian (Shanghai) Garments

Trading Co., Ltd. v. Zhejiang Taobao Network Co., Ltd. and Guofa Du] (Shanghai No.1 Interm.

People’s Ct., Apr. 25, 2011) (Chinalawinfo).