争议商标

The disputed trademark

引证商标

The cited trademark

      一、 基本案情

1. Basic facts

第3746575号“施華洛及图”商标（以下称争议商标）于2003年10月9日申请注册，后于2006年1月21日获准注册，核定使用在第41类“婚纱摄影、婚纱录影、摄影”等服务上。

The No. 3746575 Trademark “施華洛 and picture” (hereinafter referred to as the disputed trademark) was applied for registration on October 9, 2003, and then approved to be registered on January 21, 2006. It is approved to be used on "wedding photography, wedding video recording, photography" and other services in class 41.

申请人于2018年4月27日对争议商标提出无效宣告申请，主要理由为：申请人是国际知名的水晶珠宝供应商，在争议商标申请日前，申请人“施华洛世奇”“SWAROVSKI”商标获得了极高知名度，为消费者熟知，争议商标是对申请人第385013号“施华洛世奇”商标（以下称引证商标）的恶意抄袭和模仿，损害申请人利益。依据2001年《商标法》第十三条第二款、第四十一条第一款等规定，请求宣告争议商标无效。

The applicant filed an application for invalidation of the disputed trademark on April 27, 2018. The main reason is that the applicant is an internationally well-known supplier of crystal jewelry. Before the application date of the disputed trademark, the trademark "施华洛世奇(SWAROVSKI)" of the applicant has obtained high popularity and is well known among consumers. The disputed trademark maliciously copies and imitates the No. 385013 trademark "施华洛世奇" of the applicant (hereinafter referred to as the cited trademark), and the applicant's interests are infringed. According to the provisions of Article 13 (2) and Article 41 (1) of the Trademark Law of 2001, the invalidation of the disputed trademark was claim for.

二、国家知识产权局观点　

2. Views of the China National Intellectual Property Administration

《商标法》第四十五条第一款规定，申请人以《商标法》第十三条之规定宣告争议商标注册无效的期限为自商标注册之日起五年内，但对恶意注册的，驰名商标所有人不受五年的时间限制。根据申请人提交的证据以及国家知识产权局查明的事实可知，在争议商标申请注册之前申请人的“施华洛世奇”“施华洛”等品牌商品有数十家国内知名报刊、网站等媒体进行宣传报道,且引证商标在人民法院相关判决书中亦被认定已为相关公众所熟知，在原商标评审委员会作出的多件无效宣告裁定中亦有此认定。故本案认定引证商标指定使用在“宝石”商品上已为相关公众所熟知，争议商标构成对引证商标的复制、模仿；争议商标核定使用的婚纱摄影等服务与引证商标核定使用的宝石等商品存在一定关联性；被申请人在实际使用中具有攀附申请人高知名度商标的主观故意，已在法院生效判决中予以确认。争议商标使用在指定服务上易使消费者误认为其指定服务来源于申请人或与申请人之间存在密切关联，损害申请人权益。因此，本案中判定争议商标的注册违反了2001年《商标法》第十三条第二款的规定。

The first paragraph of Article 45 of the Trademark Law stipulates that the time limit for the applicant to declare the registration of a disputed trademark invalid in accordance with Article 13 of the Trademark Law shall be five years from the date of registration of the trademark. However, in case of malicious registration, the owner of a well-known trademark shall not be subject to the time limit of five years. According to the evidence submitted by the applicant and the facts found by the China National Intellectual Property Administration, before the application for registration of the disputed trademark, dozens of domestic well-known newspapers, websites and other media had carried out publicity and report on the applicant's "施华洛世奇", "施华洛" and other brand commodities. Moreover, the cited trademark has also been recognized as well-known among the relevant public in the relevant judgments of the people's court, as well as a number of invalidation decisions made by the original Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. Therefore, this case holds that the cited trademark has been well known to the relevant public for its use on the designated “precious stones”, and the disputed trademark reproduces and imitates the cited trademark; certain correlation exists between services such as wedding photography designated by the disputed trademark and goods such as precious stones designated by the cited trademark. The respondent has the subjective intention to attach the applicant's well-known trademark in its actual use, which has been confirmed in the effective judgment of the court. The use of the disputed trademark on the designated services may mislead consumers to believe that the designated services are provided by the applicant or are closely related to the applicant, thus infringing the rights and interests of the applicant. Therefore, it was determined in this case that the registration of the disputed trademark violates the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 13 of the Trademark Law of 2001.

三． 典型意义

        3. Significance

为平衡权利人的合法权益及维护注册商标的稳定性，我国《商标法》对提起无效宣告的主体资格以及提起的期间都进行了严格限制，自商标获准注册五年后在先权利人或利害关系人原则上不能依据《商标法》第十三条提出无效宣告申请。上述情形亦有例外规定，即对恶意注册的，为相关公众所熟知商标的所有人不受五年的时间限制。

In order to balance the legitimate rights and interests of right holders and maintain the stability of registered trademarks, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China strictly limits the subject qualification and the time limit for filing the invalidation declaration. In principle, the holder of prior rights or an interested party can not apply for invalidation in accordance with Article 13 of the trademark law five years after the trademark has been approved to be registered. However, there is an exception to the above situation, that is, if the registration is obtained mala fide, the five-year time limit will not be applicable to the holders of trademarks that are well known to the relevant public.

超五年适用该条款，核心为对于恶意的认定。该种恶意应是具有以此注册商标攀附他人较高声誉商标、牟取不正当经济利益等明显恶意意图。本案中，国家知识产权局充分考虑了被申请人在实际使用中具有攀附他人高知名度商标的主观恶意以及在先商标的知名度等因素，从而对被申请人具有恶意行为作出认定。适用该条款是对为相关公众熟知商标加大保护力度的体现，体现了商标行政主管机关对于故意攀附他人商标知名度及商誉的严格规制，对于促进市场经济健康有序发展，打击恶意注册，维护当事人权益等具有积极作用。

 The key to applying this article after five years is to judge whether the registration has malicious intention or not, such as attaching other people's high-reputation trademark and seeking illegitimate economic benefits. In this case, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) fully considered that the respondent has subjective malice of attaching other people's well-known trademark in the actual use and the prior trademark has high popularity, so CNIPA determined that the respondent has done malicious acts. The application of this article strengthens the protection of trademarks well known to the relevant public, and reflects the strict regulation of trademark administrative authorities on intentionally attaching the popularity and goodwill of others' trademarks, which positively promotes the healthy and orderly development of market economy, cracks down on malicious registration, and safeguards the rights and interests of the parties.