Recently, the inauguration ceremony of the Intellectual Property Working Committee and the “Zhi Qi Tong” Seminar on Intellectual Property Protection in the Era of Digital Intelligence was successfully held in Shanghai. At the event, the Third Branch of the Shanghai People’s Procuratorate released the Top Ten Criminal Protection Cases of Intellectual Property under the “Zhi Qi Tong” initiative. The case of “Peng XX and Zhao XX Illegally Manufacturing and Selling Illegally Manufactured Registered Trademark Identifications,” handled by Lusheng Law Firm and its strategic partner Rouse International on behalf of Zespri, was honored as one of the selected cases.
Brief Overview of the Case
From June to November 2023, the defendant Peng XX, without authorization from the right holder and for the purpose of obtaining illegal gains, accepted the entrustment of Zhao (handled in a separate case) to manufacture trademark labels bearing counterfeit registered trademarks of the right holder. Peng then separately entrusted the defendant Chen XX, who operated a certain packaging materials company in Chengdu, to manufacture the aforementioned trademark labels and sell them to Zhao. Zhao, acting in concert with Dai XX and Peng XX (handled in a separate case), purchased locally produced fresh kiwifruit from farmers in Pujiang County, Sichuan Province and other locations, hired workers to affix the aforementioned trademark labels onto the kiwifruit, and then sold them to the public via online stores. Rouse International, upon engagement by the right holder, assisted in the collection and preservation of infringement evidence and in the identification of counterfeit products. Upon review, it was ascertained that the quantities of registered trademark identifications manufactured and sold by the defendants Peng XX and Chen XX each amounted to 513,600.
On 18 July 2024, the People’s Procuratorate of Pudong New Area, Shanghai, filed a public prosecution with the People’s Court of Pudong New Area, Shanghai (hereinafter referred to as the “Pudong Court”) against the defendants Peng XX and Chen XX for the crime of illegally manufacturing and selling illegally manufactured registered trademark identifications. During the course of the proceedings, Rouse International, in collaboration with Lusheng Law Firm, continuously provided legal support to the right holder and assisted the right holder in deeply participating in the litigation process. Following the first-instance judgment, neither of the two defendants filed an appeal, and the first-instance judgment has become legally effective.
Typical Significance
1. Precise full-chain crackdown to build a closed-loop protection mechanism for the entire lifecycle of intellectual property
In this case, a total of 513,600 counterfeit trademark identifications were seized, which were of high imitation accuracy and constituted the source of the identifications used in two other cases involving the manufacture and sale of counterfeit kiwifruit handled by the Pudong Procuratorate. Rouse International provided strong support to the procuratorial authorities in implementing a full-chain crackdown at each stage, including the source, counterfeiting, and sale of counterfeit goods, thereby achieving full lifecycle protection of intellectual property.
2. Deep protection of the right holder’s right to participate in litigation, highlighting procedural justice and the status of the party
The right holder was deeply involved throughout the litigation process, from the recognition and identification of the infringing identifications to participation in court hearings and submission of legal opinions. Rouse International continuously provided professional legal support during the proceedings, assisting the right holder in effectively exercising various litigation rights. This fully reflects the judiciary’s respect for the right holder’s status as a party and demonstrates the practical achievements of procedural justice in the criminal protection of intellectual property.
3. Comprehensive use of criminal sanctions to build a long-term mechanism for recidivism prevention
The breakthrough judicial highlight of this case lies in the regulation of the conduct of the printer of the infringing identifications. In order to reduce the risk of reoffending by the defendants, Rouse International, acting on behalf of the victim entity, applied for a prohibitory order. For the defendant whose principal business was label printing, while a suspended sentence was lawfully pronounced, it was expressly stipulated that the defendant is prohibited from engaging in the manufacture or sale of registered trademark identifications as a business activity during the probationary period. This measure prevents the risk of reoffending at the source and reflects a modernized transformation of criminal judicial protection of intellectual property from “punishment” to “governance.” This line of reasoning in adjudication has a strong demonstrative effect and promotional value for combating the grey industrial chain of intellectual property infringement in the printing and packaging industry.
Rouse Case Team
Gao Tingting
Senior Consultant
Rouse International
Email: cgao@rouse.com
