[Case Summary]

Beijing Love Natural Cosmetics Co., Ltd. was established in 2014, mainly engaged in the research and development of skincare brands using fresh plant extracts as raw materials, trace preservatives, and high cost-effectiveness. Currently, it has served tens of thousands of users, and its "Frebuty Su Rui Sheng" trademark has gained high popularity among the relevant public.

After monitoring, our company found that a company in Changzhou has applied for registration of the "Ruishengtang" trademark on Class 3 "shampoo" and other products. The trademark was approved for registration in October 2022. According to preliminary analysis, "Ruishengtang" and the "Su Rui Sheng", "Su Rui Sheng SURISHENG", and "Rui Sheng" trademarks of Love Natural Cosmetics Company are relatively similar in terms of text composition and calling. If used on Class 3 products such as shampoo, it is easy for consumers to confuse or mistake the source of the products. Love Natural Cosmetics Company then entrusted our company to file an invalidation application for the trademark.

[Result of Trial]

The trial of this case has now ended. After examination, the China National Intellectual Property Administration believes that the disputed trademark is similar to the cited trademark in terms of text composition, calling, etc., and constitutes a similar trademark. The disputed trademark's approved use of "shampoo" and other products is similar to the cited trademark's approved use of "soap" and other products. The coexistence of disputed trademarks and cited trademarks on similar goods mentioned above can easily cause confusion and misidentification among consumers regarding the origin of the goods, which constitutes a similar trademark used on similar goods as referred to in Article 30 of the Trademark Law. Therefore, the disputed trademark is declared invalid.

[Case Analysis]

The Trademark Law stipulates the system of invalidation action, which means that if a registered trademark violates the regulations, the prior right holder or interested party may request the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to declare the registered trademark invalid within five years from the date of trademark registration. For malicious registrations, the owner of a well-known trademark is not subject to a five-year time limit.

In practice, it is very important for enterprises to actively conduct regular monitoring. If similar trademark applications are found, they can take legal procedures such as invalidation and opposition applications to actively protect their own rights and interests.