Case Brief

As a leading enterprise in the home decoration and building materials industry, MACO Group has built a brand system centered on "MACO" through nearly three decades of dedicated development. The group owns multiple registered trademarks of "MACO" series and sub-brands, enjoying exceptional brand reputation in the industry.

Investigations revealed that Jiangsu Meichao Company, Meichao Yizhuang Company, and Anhui Meichao Company maliciously registered enterprise names  incorporating the trade name “美巢” and used infringing marks such as “美巢藍(lán)盾 (Mei Chao Lan Dun)” and “美巢錮 (Mei Chao Gu)”  to produce and sell competing products. Additionally, they deliberately created market confusion through multiple means,  including counterfeiting MACO’s environmental certification marks, imitating product packaging designs, and mimicking promotional language, attempting to establish  false associations with the MACO Group.

Notably, the Jiangsu Meichao Company was already adjudged to have committed trademark infringement in case (2021) Chuan Zhi Min Zhong No. 896 by the court, yet not only refused to comply with the effective judgment, but also further expanded the scale of infringement by establishing affiliated companies.

Unitalen Law Office once again represented the MACO Group in filing a lawsuit against the Jiangsu Meichao Company and others, securing another victory in the first instance.

Court Opinion

The Nanjing Intermediate People's Court fully upheld the litigation claims of the plaintiff  , MACO Group,  providing detailed determinations across multiple dimensions, including trademark infringement, unfair competition, joint liability,  and damages calculation. The court recognized the plaintiff’s trademark "" as entitled to well-known trademark protection in this case, affirmed that the  actions of Jiangsu Meichao Company and others constituted trademark infringement and unfair competition, and ordered the defendants to compensate the plaintiff for economic losses of 5,000,000 yuan and reasonable expenses of 100,000 yuan incurred to stop the infringement, totaling 5,100,000 yuan.

Simultaneously, the court further ordered the three defendants to cease using the enterprise names containing the characters "美巢" within fifteen days and to publicly publish a statement to eliminate adverse effects.

Case Significance

This case provides a clear legal basis for protecting the legitimate rights and interests of well-known trademarks, while also delivering important warnings to enterprises on how to prevent acts of trademark infringement and unfair competition. This case also fully demonstrates the strict attitude of judicial authorities in handling similar cases, awarding maximum damages permissible within the statutory range, to exert a powerful deterrent effect.