The Plaintiff, Shanghai Kuanyu Digital Technology Co., Ltd., the operator of the video sharing the website Bilibili.com (Bilibili), is the exclusive licensee of the following trademarks:
The Defendants, Fuzhou Dili Technology Co., Ltd., Fuzhou Bondage Network Co., Ltd., and Fujian Tianxia Wushuang Investment Group Co., Ltd, jointly operate the dilidili.wang (Dilidili) website. On both the Dilidili website and a Dilidili App, the Defendants made use of a large number of ‘dilidili’ logos that the Plaintiff considered deceptively similar to the Bilibili registered trademarks.
The Plaintiff claimed that the Defendants’ use of the ‘dilidili’ logos was likely to mislead and deceive online consumers into believing they were dealing with Bilili. This not only harmed the Plaintiff’s and Bilibili‘s good reputation and brand image, but was also contrary to the public interest.
On 31 August 2020, the Shanghai Yangpu District People’s Court heard the trade mark infringement action and held that the Plaintiff’s Bilibili trademarks, with the exception of trademark no. 11356033, had been infringed. The Defendants’ Dilidili trademark as a whole was extremely similar to the Bilibili trademarks and the pronunciation of both marks was similar. Further, with the exception of trademark No. 11356033, the Defendants’ marks were being used in relation to the products and services in respect of which the Bilibili marks were registered. As a result, there was a likelihood of confusion or deception arising.
Accordingly, the Court found in favour of the Plaintiff and ordered the Defendants to cease the infringement immediately; publish an appropriate statement for five days to reduce the impact of the infringement; and compensate the Plaintiff for economic loss and reasonable costs in the sum of CNY 3 million (approx. US$450,000).
