Longan
On April 29, Longan (Guangzhou) Law Firm in Beijing successfully held the second classic case seminar. As part of the World Intellectual Property Day series of events, this case seminar focused on intellectual property topics. It was presented by three lawyers from Longan Guangzhou—Liu Huan, Liu Xialao, and Chen Changqin—and attracted many lawyers in the intellectual property field from the firm to discuss practical issues and challenges in areas such as trademarks, patents, and online reputation infringement. The event was chaired by Lawyer Chen Changqin.
Lawyer Liu Huan, a senior partner at Longan Guangzhou, started with the “Franciana Famous Trademark Case” to systematically explain the core principles and practical techniques for judicial recognition of famous trademarks. After in-depth analysis of difficulties in recognizing famous trademarks, such as the “Franciana Famous Trademark Case,” Lawyer Liu Huan summarized four key techniques for recognition and shared four litigation strategies.
Lawyer Liu Huan
Senior Partner at Longan Guangzhou
Senior Researcher at Longan Bay Intellectual Property Research Center
The four key techniques include “two paths, three principles, four situations, and five factors.” By analyzing legal provisions and typical cases from the Guangdong High Court and Shanghai High Court, Lawyer Liu Huan shared how these techniques are applied in law and practice. He also emphasized that courts will independently examine evidence for recognition in individual cases, and identified four scenarios for recognizing fame: “protection of unregistered trademarks, cross-class protection of registered trademarks, infringement of corporate names, and the defendant’s defense or counterclaim.” He suggested using visual tools to simplify complex matters, improve evidence presentation, and ensure effective court proceedings to achieve litigation goals.
Lawyer Liu Huan’s presentation provided important references for enterprises to develop systematic strategies in trademark planning and recognition of famous trademarks, highlighting the flexibility and practical approach in judicial practices regarding the protection of famous trademarks.
During the seminar, Lawyer Liu Xialao, a member of the Trademark Law Committee of the Guangdong Lawyers Association, used the patent infringement case she represented to explain the approach to determining the scope of patent protection. Starting from the case details, she compared the patent technical solutions with those of the infringing products, and detailed the differences between first-instance and second-instance judgments, focusing on the application of the principle of non-retreat in second-instance proceedings.
Lawyer Liu Xialao
Lawyer/Patent Agent at Longan Guangzhou
Senior Researcher at Longan Bay Intellectual Property Research Center
Based on the Patent Law and other judicial interpretations, Lawyer Liu emphasized the role of specifications, drawings, and examination files in interpreting claims. Combining her experience in case handling, she highlighted the importance of careful attention to details and proper evidence organization, and discussed strategies for settlement and response. Lawyer Liu Xialao’s presentation provided valuable practical experience and legal guidance for participants in handling patent infringement cases, demonstrating her expertise in the field of patents.
Lawyer Chen Changqin, a researcher at Longan Bay Intellectual Property Research Center, proposed “opening other types of infringement cases from an intellectual property perspective.” He discussed how strategies for handling intellectual property cases can be useful for other types of cases, and used the reputation infringement case of a company in Foshan as an example to analyze the challenges and strategies for protecting brands in the online era.
Lawyer Chen Changqin
Researcher at Longan Bay Intellectual Property Research Center
Member of the Company Law Committee at Longan Guangzhou
Lawyer Chen Changqin pointed out that due to factors such as unclear identity of the parties, disputes over infringement determination, insufficient evidence of losses, and very low compensation in similar cases, preparatory steps such as notarization, letters demanding action, complaints to platforms, and investigation can provide a solid foundation for litigation. By presenting evidence of the nature of the infringement, compliance with infringement criteria, clear intent to infringe, and the scope and consequences of the infringement, it is possible to help the court determine infringement and increase the amount of compensation. In this case, by challenging the platform’s rules, the plaintiff also obtained a ruling requiring the platform to bear joint liability, resulting in the highest compensation in similar cases in recent years in the region.
In practice, Lawyer Chen Changqin provided useful suggestions regarding the unfavorable factors in the early stages of cases, including lack of identity information, difficulty in gathering evidence of infringement and losses, the defendant’s attempt to distort facts, and efforts to establish platform responsibilities. His presentation provided practical examples for enterprises to respond quickly, secure evidence, and obtain substantial compensation in online reputation infringement cases, highlighting the stricter approach of the judiciary in determining platform responsibilities.
Longan
The seminar also included an interactive session where participants engaged in lively discussions with the speakers about difficult issues encountered in practice. The atmosphere was very active.
Longan Guangzhou has a long history in the field of intellectual property, and the cases it represents have been selected as typical cases by various courts. This seminar focused on the theme of World Intellectual Property Day, while also analyzing classic cases within the firm, providing a good platform for professional exchange. In the future, Longan Guangzhou will continue to pay attention to legal developments and organize more specialized activities to contribute to the high-quality development of the industry.