Recently, PUMA Aktien Gesellscaft Rudolf Dassler Sport (below referred to as “plaintiff”) brought a lawsuit against Yincheng Supermarket (below referred to as “defendant”) in Rui’ an, Zhejiang province for trademark infringement. Zhejiang Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court held that Puma won the lawsuit and the defendant should compensate for economic losses in the amount of RMB 55, 000(approx $7638).                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Mr. Luijing, trademark attorney representing Puma, stated that the plaintiff had registered serial trademarks including “PUMA”, and “PUMA & Device” in respect of goods such as sports shoes in class 25 since 1991. In July, 2007, the plaintiff found that sports shoes with marks similar to its registered ones were on sale in Yingcheng supermarket, and then it brought a lawsuit against the defendant to Wenzhou Intermediate Court, claiming for cessation of infringement and compensation for the loss.

Wenzhou Intermediate Court held that the sports shoes sold by the defendant are similar to the goods designated by the plaintiff’s registered trademarks. Further, the device marked on the sold shoes is closely identical to the mark registered by the plaintiff. Therefore, the conduct of the defendant has instituted infringement of the exclusive right of the plaintiff’s trademark. The defendant shall cease selling the shoes and bear compensation of RMB 55, 000 for the plaintiff’s economic loss.