New Balance wins copyright case against Chinese firm over ‘N’ logo, wins US$1.54 million
- New Balance’s win comes after former NBA star Michael Jordan won a copyright infringement case, indicating China is serious on protecting intellectual property
- China is in the process of drafting an action plan on IP protection as required under the phase one trade deal with the US
New Balance has won a lawsuit filed against a Chinese company over its logo, indicating the country is taking protection of intellectual property more seriously.
The Shanghai Pudong People’s Court last week ordered New Barlun to pay damages of 10.8 million yuan (US$1.54 million) to the US sports footwear and apparel company. New Barlun was found guilty of unfairly using an “N” symbol that closely resembles New Balance’s signature logo, which the court said would mislead customers. New Balance filed the case in 2016, but it has been involved in other disputes with New Barlun for 16 years.
New Balance – one of the top 10 sportswear brands in China by market share – argued their own symbol was well known before New Barlun had applied for trademark registration, according to a statement by Rouse, a London-headquartered IP firm specialising in emerging markets. Chinese law firm Lusheng, which represented New Balance, is part of Rouse’s network, it said.
“The court has fairly enforced the legitimate rights of New Balance and in doing so, protected consumers’ interests,” said Angela Shi, senior brand protection manager for New Balance.
Boston-based New Balance’s victory comes exactly two weeks after China’s highest court overruled two earlier lower court rulings in favour of former NBA star Michael Jordan in a copyright infringement case. It found Fujian-based Qiaodan Sports had illegally used Jordan’s name in Chinese, Qiao Dan.
