Recently lawyer Li Shuhua and lawyer Jiang Shan represented H-D Michigan, LLC in the “Hanma Halei HMHL and Picture” trademark opposition review administrative litigation case and received the first-instance ruling in favor. 

The plaintiff, Changzhou Wanpeng Electronic Co., Ltd., filed a claim to Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court of the repeal of the previous adjudication of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, on the grounds that the opposed trademark was not a similar trademark to the cited trademark for their obvious differences in meaning, pronunciation and overall design and structure, and the lack of evidence as proof that the cited trademark was well known in Mainland China before the application date of the opposed trademark and the Chinese characters “Ha Lei” had become the specific translation of “HARLEY”.

After the trial at Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court, the online evidence provided by H-D Michigan, LLC during the evaluation phase could prove that, before the application date of the opposed trademark, “Ha Lei” and “Harley” had been used interchangeably in magazines such as Global Times, Sanlian Lifeweek, The Economic Observer, and Grass. Also, the reports on infringement submitted by H-D Michigan, LLC during the evaluation period and the civil ruling during litigation as supplement proved as well that “Ha Lei” was the transliteration of HARLEY”, indicating that the two constituted similar trademarks. Trademark Review and Adjudication Board concluded correctly that the simultaneous presence of the two trademarks on motorcycles and the same or similar products would cause confusion and misconception among consumers. The court therefore affirmed the decision of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board.