In order to prevent any misunderstanding and confusion between other companies’ brand name and our company’s brand name among consumers, we hereby announce as follows:
Regarding to the dispute over the validity of the trademark “
” (application no.: 19688453, hereinafter referred to as “Disputed trademark”) between Marukyu Koyamaen Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Our company”) and Lvgugongfang Co., Ltd. located in Zhejiang Province, China, we hereby announce that Our company has received the invalidation judgment from the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). The reasons are as below:
- It is affirmed that the Disputed trademark is similar with trademarks
“
” (application no.: G1037713) and “
” (application no.: 18400843) owned by Our company.
- It is affirmed by the CNIPA that “Uji” is being recognized as a famous city in Japan, and also a famous place of Matcha production. Furthermore, since “Uji” used in the Disputed trademark is unable to create a stronger meaning except as a name of a place, thus it is affirmed as a violation of Article 10, Item 2 of Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China, which stated that “None of the following signs may be used as trademarks: those identical with or similar to the State name, national flag, national emblem or military flag etc., of a foreign country, except with the consent of the government of that country”.
The judgment for invalidation will be confirmed if Lvgugongfang Co., Ltd. does not appeal against the decision within 30 days after receiving the judgment.
Thoughts about intellectual property issue in China
In order to protect the intellectual properties with the highest priority which Our company established with our best efforts over the years, and also to avoid further misunderstanding and confusion among consumers, we will definitely continue to take necessary measures together with the supports from The Diet Members’ League for Tea Industry Promotion of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, Japan External Trade Organization, Kyoto Prefecture, Uji City and Kyoto Tea Cooperative.
Marukyu Koyamaen Co., Ltd.
