Cases
Hylands Successfully Handles the Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition Dispute of Legendary Land
To celebrate the 22nd "World Intellectual Property Day", the Civil No. 5 Court (Intellectual Property Court) of Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing has launched a series of law promotion activities, among which, a public judgment was delivered in court on April 25, 2022 in the case of Beijing Dacheng Youfang Hotel Management Co., Ltd. against Henan Legendary Land Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd. and CCTID Cultural Tourism Investment Group Co., Ltd. And journalists from media such as Legal Daily were invited to witness the whole judgment online.
On April 26, 2022, the public WeChat account of the Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing, "Chaoyang Law Garden", released related news. Lawyer Chengfang HUANG and intern lawyer Gongping DU from the consultant team of Weihua GUO of Hylands Beijing Office served as agents of the defendant Henan Legendary Land Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd. As a result of unremitting efforts, the court of first instance dismissed all the claims of the plaintiff in accordance with the law.
The "Legendary Land" scenic spot is located in Zhumadian City, Henan Province, it is a key investment project jointly established by Henan Province and Zhumadian City, and has been highly valued by the provincial government of Henan Province and the municipal government of Zhumadian City. Henan Legendary Land Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd. and CCTID Cultural Tourism Investment Group Co., Ltd. have invested over RMB 8 billion, and the total construction area of the scenic spot is 2.36 million square meters, which highlights the excavation and extension of the thousand-year post culture and establishes an ancient cultural tourism city fulfilling the six functions of "food, accommodation, transportation, tourism, shopping and entertainment".
The plaintiff, Dacheng Youfang, is the operator of the The Royal Hotel series in Beijing, and enjoys the exclusive right to use No. 6330787, "THE EMPEROR AND DRAWINGS OF THE ROYAL HOTEL". The plaintiff sued to the court on the grounds that the "Legendary Land" scenic spot infringed its exclusive trademark right and constituted unfair competition, and brought the Legendary Land and CCTID to the court, requesting to terminate the infringement and unfair competition, and claiming for over RMB 8 million.
Upon being entrusted by the Legendary Land, the lawyer team made a comprehensive analysis of the historical and cultural background of the "Thousand-Year Post City" of Zhumadian. According to historical records, in 1474, Emperor Chenghua of Ming Dynasty ordered King Chongjian Zhu Jianze to set up a post station near Ramie Village (now Yicheng District, Zhumadian City) in Runing Prefecture. The place had convenient transportation since ancient times. It was a hub from all directions, with officials passing by, merchants gathering, and postmen shuttling, there were many inns and horse stores where the horses were stationed. Zhu Mianshen, the Emperor Chenghua of Ming Dynasty, personally marched back to Zhuma Post, and since then, Zhuma Post became a royal post, and because of the royal status of Zhu Jianze, the King Chongjian, Zhuma Post was called a "Royal Post".
Based on this, after deeply understanding the situation of the "Legendary Land" scenic spot and the plaintiff Dacheng Youfang Company, the lawyer team submitted detailed evidence to the Chaoyang Court, and made a full explanation that the Legendary Land did not constitute trademark infringement and unfair competition, based on the fact that the "Legendary Land" scenic spot was different from the "The Emperor" hotel. Starting from the unique historical and cultural background of the "Legendary Land" scenic spot and the significance of the project, and the high goodwill of the "Legendary Land" scenic spot, the team fully explained that the "Legendary Land" scenic spot did not constitute trademark infringement and unfair competition, taking into account laws and regulations, past precedents and the provisions of the administrative review of trademarks. The court finally accepted the opinions of the legal team and dismissed all of the claims of the plaintiff.