Introduction
CTMO administrative notices
CTMO reply to Sichuan Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce
General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announcements
Approval of CHAMPAGNE and 香槟 trademarks
Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court ruling
BIPC ruling
Comment
The Comité Interprofessionnel Du Vin De Champagne (CIVC) is the trade association that represents the interests of independent Champagne producers and Champagne houses. Champagne is known by Chinese consumers as "香槟", one of the transliterations of the French controlled designation of origin. From 1989, when the then China Trademark Office confirmed in two administrative notices that the appellation of origin for "香槟(Champagne)" is not a generic name and is thus eligible for protection, to 2022, when the Beijing Intellectual Property Court ruled that "香槟(Champagne)" constitutes a well-known trademark, the CIVC has been advancing the legal front for the protection of the "香槟(Champagne)" geographical indication (GI) in China for over three decades. The journey of the "香槟(Champagne)" GI has outlined a roadmap for the protection of foreign GIs in China.
On 2 August 1989 and 26 October 1989, the then China Trademark Office (CTMO), which was under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, issued two administrative notices, affirming that "香槟(Champagne)" is a French appellation of origin that cannot be used as a generic name on wines.
CTMO reply to Sichuan Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce
On 29 July 1996, the CTMO clarified in its reply to the Sichuan Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce that "香槟" is the transliteration of the French denomination CHAMPAGNE, which refers to a sparkling white wine from the French Champagne region. It is an appellation of origin and a foreign place name known to the public. The CTMO reiterated in its reply that, as a member state to the Paris Convention, China is obligated to protect appellations of origin, which fall under the remit of industrial property.
General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announcements
On 18 January 2012, the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine issued the Announcement on Accepting Champagne's Application for Geographical Indication Protection Registration. On 11 April 2013, it promulgated the Announcement on Approving the Protection of Geographical Indication Products for Champagne, accrediting "香槟(Champagne)" as a GI product that is entitled to protection in China.
Approval of CHAMPAGNE and 香槟 trademarks
On 20 December 2012, the CTMO approved, in its longest ever publication, the preliminary examination of the GI collective trademarks of CHAMPAGNE and "香槟" in a supplementary Trademark Gazette. On 20 March 2013, upon the expiry of the publication period, the two trademarks were approved for registration. This heralded the protection of CHAMPAGNE and "香槟" as GI collective trademarks in China.
Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court ruling
On 10 February 2015, the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court reasoned, in CIVC v Beijing Sheng Yan Yi Mei Trading Ltd (the latter being a seller of soft drinks bearing the names "香槟Champagne") that "the protection of a geographical indication should not be premised on its registration as a collective mark or a certification mark in China". The Court thus ruled that the GIs should be protected even though they had not been registered in China in 2012 when the case was lodged. This was the first civil case in which Champagne was protected as a GI in China.
On 14 March 2022, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court (BIPC) published an article on its WeChat Official Account Intellectual Property Beijing. The article publicised the Court's recognition of the GI collective marks CHAMPAGNE and "香槟" as well-known trademarks in the first instance of a trademark infringement case: CIVC v Guangzhou Xue Lei Cosmetic Ltd et al. The BIPC ascertained that using CHAMPAGNE LIFE and its Chinese counterpart "香槟人生" on perfume constituted imitation of the CIVC's well-known trademarks (WKTMs). This undermined not only the distinctiveness of the WKTMs, but also the correlation between the WKTMs and wines. Based on this, the BIPC concluded that trademark infringement could be established. This was the first case in which CHAMPAGNE and "香槟" were protected as well-known trademarks in a civil proceeding in China.
Under China's unique dual-track administrative protection system, Champagne is registered as both a GI product and a GI collective trademark. In civil proceedings, Champagne was once protected as an unregistered GI; it is now registered as a well-known GI collective trademark. The journey of Champagne could bear witness to the remarkable success that the CIVC has achieved through formulating tailored protection strategies suited to China's evolving administrative and legislative GI protection landscape.
For further information on this topic please contact Yongjian Lei or Xiaoning Pu at Wanhuida Intellectual Property by telephone (+86 10 6892 1000) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]). The Wanhuida Intellectual Property website can be accessed at www.wanhuida.com.
This article first appeared on World Trademark Review. For further information, please go to www.worldtrademarkreview.com.