Recently, Lawyer Zhang Hong and lawyer Li Shuhua of Beijing Janlea Law Firm represented the Coca-Cola Co., Ltd. in the “HIYA-! and picture” trademark opposition review administrative litigation and won in the first-instance trial.

The third party, Ka Le Store of Zhongshan, Sanxiang, applied for and registered the opposed trademark “HIYA-! and picture”. Coca-Cola cited its registration of the “Qoo” and “Qoo Figure” trademarks and thus proposed the opposition.

This series of cases were to be trialed by Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court. The Court gave the first-instance ruling that the beer and mash (beer if fermented) products associated with opposed trademark were similar with the water (beverage) product associated with the cited trademark, in terms of customers and places for sales. The relevant public would normally assume a connection between the two and confusion could easily occur. The pictorial part of the opposed trademark had a similar design to the general style of the cited trademark, since both depicted big-headed, small-bodied cartoon figures of a child. The two designs existed simultaneously on the same or similar products, making it easy for the relevant public to confuse the sources of the products they were associated with, or to falsely assume a connection between the two. The situation constituted as similar trademarks on same or similar products and thus the adjudication of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board was repealed.