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Two American Firms Win Lawsuits Over Domain Names
The US based Procter & Gamble and Du Pont Tuesday won lawsuits over their respective trademark domain names in Beijing.
According to a ruling handed down today by the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, both the domain names: dupont.com.cn, registered by Beijing-based Guowang Information Co. Ltd., and tide.com.cn, registered by Beijing-based Tiandi Electronics Group, are invalid on grounds of violating China's Trade Mark Law and the Law Against Unfair Competition.
The court verdict said that the trademark of Du Pont and "Tide", P & G company's trademark for washing powder, are widely recognized by the general public and well-known trademarks in China. Thus, the two Beijing-based companies violated the above mentioned Chinese laws.
In addition to being required to revoke the invalid domain name, Guowang Information Co. Ltd. was also ordered to repay the 2,700 yuan (about US$325.3) Du Pont spent on litigation.
Tiandi Electronics Group was also required to revoke and stop using the domain name: tide.com.cn, in a separate case.
Lawyers representing Guowang Information Co. Ltd said after the trial they could not accept the verdict and would later appeal to a higher court.
The Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court accepted Du Pont company's litigation against Guowang Information Co. Ltd. in December 1999. An open trial of the case was held in April this year.
Procter & Gamble's lawsuit against Tiandi Electronics Group was accepted by the court in March this year and an open trial was conducted in October.
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