The LEHMAN, Lee & Xu China Trademarks Newsletter keeps you up to date on recent developments in
China Trademark law and practice
Beijing IP Court Awards Highest Damages
Italian High-end clothing company Moncler announced recently that Beijing Intellectual Property Court has awarded it the maximum damages allowed by law in a trademark infringement matter.
The award was RMB 3 million, or about USD $470,000. While this is still low by standards in Europe or USA, it is still a significant change in damages awards in China, which are typically very low.
A statement from the company called the ruling “ground-breaking.” It’s the first publicly announced maximum damages award under China’s new Trademark law, which came into effect in 2014. The previous cap on trademark infringement damages was RMB 500,000.
The judgment is an indication that Chinese courts are more serious today about intellectual property protection, and punishing infringers than at any point in the past. It is also a sign of the positive impact of the creation of the specialized Intellectual Property court in Beijing. The judges on the IP court only hear IP cases, and it seems they are more appreciative of the benefits of effective enforcement of existing IP laws.
The compliant in the case was filed in December 2014, only about a month after the IP courts were first established. The Moncler case was one if the first cases heard by the court.
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