In what is a rare trademark victory for Facebook, the U.S. social networking company narrowly won a trademark lawsuit against a Chinese company seeking to use the name "face book" for the food and beverage products that it makes.
The decision came April 25 when the Beijing Municipal High People's Court ruled to de-register the "face book" trademark owned by Liu Hongqun of south Guangdong-based Zhongshan City Zhujiang Beverage Factory.
Facebook's court battle to spare its name the horror of being linked to Chinese food products began in 2014 when it filed a lawsuit to prevent Liu from registering "face book" and using the name for everything from drinks to canned vegetables. The lawsuit was filed in a lower Beijing court, which overturned the trademark authority's decision to give Liu the social network's name.
Believe it nor not, the Chinese court's decision to rule in Facebook's favor had little to do with traditional intellectual property protection. China's trademark laws recieve flak for being overly lax, and that "laxness" was at work as this entire situation played out.
Liu's bid to register "facebook" dates back to 2011 and received preliminary approval at the time (it was fully approved in 2014). Facebook objected to China's Trademark Review and Adjudication Board and an earlier court, but both found that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Facebook was well known enough within China to make a valid claim. In response, Facebook lawyers provided Chinese media reports, academic papers and search engine results about the service to bolster their case, but it meant little in the end as the Facebook service itself has been blocked in China since 2009 - the same year it received approval from China's trademark authority.
So why did the Beijing Municipal High People's Court rule in favor of Facebook? Because it found that Liu had registered other prominent names - such as one used by a domestic toothpaste maker - prompting it to rule that he had "obvious intention to copy and plagiarize other high-profile trademarks."
Many U.S. companies have become a victim of local firms as a result of China's lax copyright laws. For example, Air Jordan, the Nike shoe named after NBA star Michael Jordan, has been in the midst of a legal battle with a Chinese sportswear company using a similar name and logo for the past few years. On the other hand, Apple recently lost a similar trademark dispute when a court ruled that companies would be allowed to continue selling handbags and leather goods branded with "IPHONE."
Both Facebook and the Chinese company declined to comment on the case.
