A foreign company sued a domestic sports equipment company inChina, alleging that the defendant was suspected of manufacturing and distributing sports equipment that infringed upon its registered trademark. In addition to demanding that the defendant cease its infringement, the plaintiff also claimed economic losses of 3,000,000 RMB, including attorney’s fees and notarial fees.

On the afternoon of September 6, 2019, the Shanghai Pudong District People’s Court (hereinafter the “Court”) issued a judgment for this case. The Court ruled that the defendant had gained over 1,000,000 RMB from the infringement; further, since the defendant’s trademark infringement met the conditions for triggering punitive damages liability under the Trademark Law, the Court awarded the full amount requested by the plaintiff.

This is the first case in Shanghai in which punitive damages for the infringement of IP rights have been awarded. The Court’s judgment analyzed the conditions for punitive damages after the implementation of the amended Trademark Law in terms of eligibility for punitive damages as well as the base amount for assessing these damages. This case will likely serve as an important precedent for similar cases in future.

(Source: IPR Daily)