Maotai Group again rejected by the court in the trademark dispute of "State Banquet"

Following the failure of the trademark application of "National Wine", Maotai Group was again rejected by the court in the "State Banquet" trademark disputeRecently, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court after trial found that the "Maotai State Banquet" trademark registration in liquor goods, easy to make the relevant public the quality of the goods and other characteristics of misidentification, other business operators also have unfair, and finally rejected the Chinese Guizhou Maotai Winery (Group) limited liability company's claim, the case has come into effectaccording to the judgment of the , the contested trademark is the "Maotai State Banquet" trademark No3333017, which was registered by Maotai Company on October 11, 2002 and designated for use in fruit wine (containing alcohol), aperitifs, wine, wine (drinks) and other goodsthe former State Administration for Industry and Commerce Trademark Review Committee after examination and determination that:" means the head of state or government for the reception of state guests or important festivals to entertain people from all walks of life held a grand banquetThe competition trademark as a registered trademark designated to use in wine (beverage) and other commodities, easy to make the relevant public the quality, quality, grade and other characteristics of the goods, and at the same time easy to cause adverse effects, constitute the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 11 (7) (8) refers to the situation, the contested trademark is not approved for registrationplaintiff Maotai, the plaintiff, took the State Trademark Review Commission and a third party, Guo, to the Beijing Intellectual Property CourtMaotai company believes that "Maotai" wine as the representative of the sauce-scented liquor, with a very high visibility"Maotai" wine has been shown on an important historical stage as a state banquet wineThe competition trademark "state banquet Maotai" is maotai company specifically for the state banquet to provide Maotai wine application registration trademark, the use of alcohol-containing liquids and other commodities, will not make the relevant public the quality of goods, quality and other characteristics of misidentification, there is no adverse effectsTherefore, the court is requested to revoke the decision of the National Trademark Review Commission in accordance with the lawthe Beijing Intellectual Property Court held that the trademark is Chinese "Maotai State Banquet", in which "state banquet" means the head of state or head of state to entertain state guests or to entertain people from all walks of life at important festivals held a grand banquetAlthough the evidence submitted by Maotai company can prove that Maotai wine has been used as a state banquet wine many times, with high visibility, but "Maotai state banquet" if used as a trademark registered in liquor, it is easy for the relevant public to think that the plaintiff's related products for the state banquet special wine, thus its quality, grade and so on have a misidentificationAt the same time, the contested trademark containing "state banquet" is registered on liquor and enjoys the exclusive right to use it, which is unfair to other business operators and has a negative impact on the public interestTherefore, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court finally found that the application for registration of the contested trademark "Maotai State Banquet" violated the provisions of Article 10 (1) (7) and (8) of the Trademark Law, and finally rejected the plaintiff Maotai's claimAfter the first instance judgment in this case was handed down, none of the parties appealed, and the first-instance judgment came into effectit is understood that in August 2018, Maotai company has failed to file a lawsuit against the Beijing Intellectual Property Court for the registration of the "National Wine Maotai" trademark, after Maotai Company voluntarily withdrew the lawsuit, "Guoyu Maotai" trademark was ultimately not approved for registration China Trademark Network information shows that in 2016, the Trademark Review Committee of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce made two rejection reviews and five reviews of non-registration reviews around the "Maotai State Banquet" trademark It is worth mentioning that the official website of the Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Office shows that a number of wine enterprises apply for the "national" head trademark, the status of which is either "waiting for substantive examination" or "applications rejected and inadmissible" Source: China