Recently, The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China made a retrial judgment in the case of China First Pencil Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as "First Pencil") v. a domestic stationery company infringing on a certain influence of the packaging decoration dispute, and found that the stationery constitutes an infringement of rights. The case went through the first trial, second trial and retrial, and was finally finalized by The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China.

Classics will always be passed on

Zhonghua 6151 red and black drawstring pencil (hereinafter referred to as "6151") is a classic product designed and launched by First Pencil on May 1, 1961 to celebrate Labor Day. After more than 60 years of use, publicity and maintenance, the pencil has accompanied the growth of generations and has become a pencil known to the public. Because of its high market influence, counterfeit or imitation products often appear in the market. In order to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, First Pencil has defended its rights through litigation and other means, and its 6151 market influence has been supported by the judgments of many grassroots courts, intermediate people's courts and high people's courts.

In 2021, First Pencil discovered that a domestic stationery company had used without permission the red and black drawstring decoration similar to 6151, causing misidentification and confusion among the relevant public. It sued to the Intermediate People's Court of a certain city in a certain province. After the trial, the court of first instance held that the red and black stripe decoration used by the stationery company was more common in the market, lacked prominence, and did not have the uniqueness of distinguishing the source of the goods, and thus did not constitute an infringement of the First Pencil, and the court rejected all the litigation requests of the First Pencil. The court rejected all the litigation requests of the First Pencil. The First Pencil refused to accept the judgment of the first instance and appealed to the Higher People's Court of a certain province, and the court of the second instance upheld the judgment of the first instance, which held that the packaging and decoration of the pencils in question did not have the distinctiveness and uniqueness, and that the use of the stationery company did not constitute an infringement of the rights of the company.

The first pencil firm intellectual property rights, then filed a retrial application to the Supreme People's Court.

Justice is never late

This case is a rather complicated litigation in the process of defending the independent intellectual property rights of the first pencil, but in the country's protection of intellectual property rights continue to strengthen, and the laws and regulations continue to improve the situation, justice has finally been served.

First Pencil sincerely thanks the consumers for their trust and love, which is also the driving force for the company to insist on defending its rights, safeguarding its brand and protecting the consumers.

Declaration: This article comes from the China Writing Instrument Association (CWIA). If copyright issues are involved, please contact us to delete.