Recently, the Liaoning High Court concluded a second-instance trademark infringement and unfair competition dispute between CASIO Computer Co., Ltd. ("Casio") and an individual Chen and an individual Han. The court found that Chen and Han infringed Casio's trademark rights and ordered them to immediately stop their infringement of Casio's Cited Marks and compensate or economic losses and reasonable expenses of RMB 600,000 (USD82,800).
Cited Marks
The court found that: First, Chen and Han sold non-original watch cases and watch straps (including watch buckles), as well as finished watches modified with non-original watch cases and watch straps (including watch buckles). However, when it promoted, offered to sell, and sold the allegedly infringing goods on platforms such as WeChat Moments, Bilibili, Little Red Book, Dewu, Xianyu, and online stores, it did not clearly inform the relevant consumers of the fact that the accessories used for modification were not original nor authentic.
Second, Chen and Han directly stated in some product names such as "Casio G-SHOCK Black Gold GA110/700/400/5600/GMA Ice Tough Glacier Transparent Case Strap," which did not contain the word "modification." In the "Purchase Instructions" of some product sales pages, it clearly stated that "Our store is all original and authentic," and pasted a label with the words "Steady G-SHOCK" on the back of the finished watches sold. Even some of the accessories sold (including the modified finished watch accessories) directly carried the trademark in question, misleading the relevant public regarding the source of the products. Chen and Han's acts constitute trademark infringement.
Third, Chen and Han promoted, offered to sell, and sold Casio high-end products that are modified from low-end Casio models, or modified Casio product styles into third-party product styles, or attached third-party logos, which damaged the goodwill of Casio's cited marks. These acts constituted trademark infringement.
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