Dahe Bao reporter Zhang Chao wang is the only one
"Go! Drinking peppery soup? middle! Runaway Town! "Recently, the peppery soup that Henan people standard breakfast is on the cusp of the storm. According to reports, on November 16, merchants in more than 50 Huli Soup Shops in Jiaozuo, Henan Province, reported that they suddenly received a court summons because they used "Xiaoyao Town" on their house number, and these three words were registered as trademarks by the "Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup Association", so if the merchants wanted to continue to use this brand, they had to pay a membership fee of 1,000 yuan per year, otherwise they would have to pay 30,000 to 50,000 yuan in compensation.
Through the "enterprise investigation" inquiry, the reporter found that Wang Leihua, the legal representative of the "Xihua County Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup Association", the reporter found 32 court announcements in the legal proceedings of the association, the plaintiffs are all Xihua County Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup Association, and the defendant is Puyang (downtown, Puyang County, Qingfeng County), Anyang (Wenfeng District) 32 individual merchants selling Peppery Soup, and the trial time is December 2021.
For a time, the province's "Xiaoyao Town" Hu Spicy Soup Circle was boiling, why did the Xihua County Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup Association get together to sue nearly 100 "Xiaoyao Town" Hu Spicy Soup Shops for "trademark infringement"? What is the hidden secret behind this?
【Investigation】 Nearly 100 Hu Spicy Soup Shops in Xiaoyao Town, many places in Henan Province, were charged
Recently, more than 50 Hu Spicy Soup Shops in Jiaozuo, Henan Province, were sued by the same "association", and this news instantly exploded in the circle of friends.
On the morning of November 19, the reporter of Dahe Bao Yu Video contacted Mr. Feng, the owner of a "Xiaoyao Town" Hu Spicy Soup Shop in Jiaozuo by phone, and the other party angrily told the reporter that in mid-November, I received a court summons, "Xihua County Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup Association" sued me for infringement of the trademark of "Xiaoyao Town" to compensate, a few days ago, I also went to the court to answer the lawsuit.
Mr. Feng said that there are about 100 "Xiaoyao Town" Peppery Soup Shops in Jiaozuo City, and about 50 of them have been sued this time. This "authentic idle pepper soup old shop" that I run has been running for a long time, and it has only been listed for two years, which has been targeted.
Previously, some media reported that if merchants want to continue to use the brand of "Runaway Town", they must pay 1,000 yuan in membership fees every year, otherwise they will have to compensate 30,000 to 50,000 yuan.
Could it be that only Jiaozuo City's "Runaway Town" Hu Spicy Soup has been prosecuted? The reporter searched for the "Xihua County Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup Association" through "enterprise investigation" and found that at the same time, there were also "Xiaoyao Town" Hu Spicy Soup distributed in Puyang, Anyang and other places in our province, which were also prosecuted.
On the morning of the 19th, the dahe newspaper and Yu video reporter contacted Ms. Liu, the owner of a "Xiaoyao Town" Hu Spicy Soup Shop in Wenfeng District, Anyang, by telephone, and the other party told reporters that on the 18th, we had already responded to the local court's lawsuit, and the lawyer hired was acting on behalf of the "Xiaoyao Town" trademark infringement. "As far as I know, there are about a dozen people in Anyang who have been sued, and I have been running the 'Qingyan Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup Bean Foam Restaurant' for 6 years, and there has never been such a thing before." Ms. Liu said angrily.
In addition, Ms. Sun, the owner of the peppery soup shop in Puyang County, Puyang City, also told reporters that this incident made us really panic, and she has been running this shop for many years, and this is the first time such a thing has occurred.
The reporter once again found through the "enterprise investigation" search that the plaintiffs in the trademark infringement case were all "Xihua County Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup Association", and the many "Xiaoyao Town" Hu Spicy Soup Shops in Anyang and Puyang involved in the case were mostly concentrated in December 2021.
【Visit】Is the "Runaway Town" peppery soup shop in front of our house okay?
Jiaozuo, Puyang, Anyang a number of Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup Shops have been sued, is the Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup Shop in front of our house okay? On the morning of November 19, the reporter went to a number of peppery soup shops in Zhengzhou to visit.
Search for "Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup" in Baidu Map, and 4 can be found within 500 meters, which shows the popularity of HuoLi Soup in Zhengzhou. The reporter came to one of the shops, the owner said: has paid attention to the relevant news, although we did not join the association, but we were originally the people of The Runaway Town, the ID card said runaway town, the store hangs the sign of the getaway town is no problem, and at present there is no notice that the name of the getaway town is not allowed. Now many people on the market are not authentic Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup but hang the brand of Xiaoyao Town, which may affect the reputation of Xiaoyao Town, and the association on the other side of the hometown should also be to regulate the market.
The owner of another Shopkeeper of Hu Spicy Soup in Xiaoyao Town told reporters that he was not from Xiaoyao Town, but the craft of making Hu Spicy Soup was learned from the master of Xiaoyao Town, and the taste was authentic. "You see our Xiangxian braised noodles next door, aren't they all place names used, and I haven't seen anyone say infringing." The Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup Association is too unauthentic to do this, if it is done like this, everyone will not dare to hang the brand of Xiaoyao Town in the future, and in a few years, the popularity of Huo Spicy Soup in Xiaoyao Town should also decline, which is not good for anyone. The owner told reporters.
In addition, the reporter also visited a number of Peppery Soup Shops in Zhengzhou, and the owners said that they had not received relevant notices or court summonses from the Hu Spicy Soup Association in Xiaoyao Town, and they were currently operating normally. "The association should be suing one after another, and it is not Zhengzhou's turn yet, maybe after a while we will also receive a summons." Now this matter is very hot, we are all paying attention, hoping to have a reasonable solution. A shopkeeper said.
【Industry】Characteristic regional cuisine needs to be inherited and developed
The reporter inquired about the telephone number of Wang Leihua, the legal representative of the Hu Spicy Soup Association in Xiaoyao Town, Xihua County, through the "enterprise investigation", and the reporter dialed many times and no one answered. Subsequently, the reporter contacted a person surnamed Yao, who hung up the reporter's phone on the grounds of busyness.
In fact, Henan's Hu Spicy Soup brands are numerous, among which the more well-known ones are Fang Yongjie Hu Spicy Soup, Yangfu Heliu Town Hu Spicy Soup, Fang Zhongshan Hu Spicy Soup, Fang Yi Kun Wild Mountain Mushroom Hu Spicy Soup, Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup, Fang Tuanjie Hu Spicy Soup, Beiwudu Hu Spicy Soup, Fang Xiuhua Hu Spicy Soup, Sunmukou Hu Spicy Soup, Nanyang Zhang Lao San Hu Spicy Soup, etc.
Dahe Newspaper Yu video reporter contacted the founder of Shangbei Wudu Flash Family Hu Spicy Soup, Henan Province intangible heritage inheritor Shan Baomin, for the inheritance and development of local cuisine, the other party said that the North Dance Du Flash Family Peppery Soup brand was also registered after many years at that time, the original intention of registering brands and brands to join is to better regulate the development of the industry, so that the brand, taste and practice of Peppery Soup will be passed down and local cuisine will be better promoted.
[Netizen] The famous "Runaway Town" peppery soup has been pushed to the cusp of the storm
Many people know that Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup is one of the famous Chinese flavors, originating from Xiaoyao Town, Xihua County, Zhoukou City, Henan Province, because of its good color and aroma, and can sober up and refresh, appetizing and healthy spleen, once became the standard for Breakfast of Henan people.
The reporter checked the relevant information and found that in recent years, the people with pioneering spirit and business philosophy have seized business opportunities, aimed at the market, a large number of people who have mastered the craft of Hu Spicy Soup have gone out of their homes and gone out to operate Hu Spicy Soup, along with the development and growth of the scale of operation, the Xiao Yao Hu Spicy Soup industry has rapidly expanded from Henan to all large and medium-sized cities in the country, getting stronger and stronger, And Yao Yao Hu Spicy Soup has reached household names in many places, and is praised as "Beijing Big Bowl Tea, Xiao Yao Hu Spicy Soup", and Xiao Yao Town is also famous inside and outside the province because of Hu Spicy Soup.
According to relevant statistics, by 2005, there were more than 2,600 households selling soup in Xiaoyao Town, nearly 10,000 people, and an annual income of 120 million yuan, which became a successful way for farmers in the town and even the county farmers to get rich. In February 2003, the "First Xiaoyao Hu Spicy Soup Food Festival and Hu Spicy Soup Competition" hosted by the People's Government of Xiaoyao Town, sponsored by the People's Government of Xihua County, was successfully held in Xiaoyao Town, and the Xiaoyao Hu Spicy Soup Association was established.
According to other data, today, about 120,000 people in Xihua County are engaged in peppery soup business inside and outside the province; In addition to physical catering stores, there are dozens of peppery soup production enterprises, and the products are exported to more than ten countries and regions.
According to the reporter's understanding, in June this year, the snack making technology (the production technology of Xiaoyao Hu Spicy Soup) has been selected into the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage representative projects list.
The incident of trademark infringement in "Runaway Town" has also aroused the "hot discussion" of netizens, and the "peppery soup circle" has been fried.
Some netizens believe that Champagne and West Lake Longjing are also place names, and they are also registered, in order to protect the local brand department from being abused and not damaged by inferior products, this practice is actually reasonable and legal, and it should be verified whether the local people open a shop, which can reduce the fee.
Some netizens also said that Xiaoyao Town is the name of a town in Xihua County. Not an administrative division above the county level, but the name of this Town Hu Spicy Soup we should all know in Henan! What does this make the friends who go out and make a living from this bowl of soup?
【Perspective】In the dispute over "regional trademarks", who is the final winner?
In recent years, there have been many cases of trademarking well-known local delicacies, such as Lanzhou beef ramen, Shaxian snacks, etc., but registered trademarks often have overall significant identification features such as graphic design in addition to text.
In fact, such trademark infringement cases are still relatively common in Zhengzhou and even the whole country, taking Zhengzhou "Fang Datong Hu Spicy Soup", which has been established for six years and has 30 stores, as an example, because of the registered trademark collision with the famous singer "Fang Datong", which had to be forced to change its name in 2018.
According to the successful protection case of Lanzhou beef ramen trademark, which was selected as one of the top ten classic cases of intellectual property rights in China, on January 24, 2019, the Beijing Municipal Higher People's Court rendered a final judgment on the second instance trial of the trademark "Lanzhou Beef Ramen Lanzhou Niurou Lamian and Figure": upholding the judgment of the first instance on the legality and validity of the trademark "Lanzhou Beef Ramen Lanzhou Niurou Lamian and Figure". After 3 years, with the Lanzhou Federation of Commerce as the main body of declaration, the trademark "Lanzhou Beef Ramen" was successfully registered.
In addition, Shaxian snacks, known as "national cuisine", have also attracted great social attention because Huifa Food "held hands" with Shaxian snacks and took over the right to operate the trademark brand.
The relevant person in charge of the production enterprise engaged in the peppery soup in Xiaoyao Town told reporters that the purpose of registering the trademark is also to standardize the operation and form a joint force to promote local cuisine, so as to ensure the original taste of the Hu Spicy Soup in Xiaoyao Town, but everything must be communicated and negotiated, otherwise it will play a negative role.
[Lawyer] There is nothing wrong with claiming the exclusive right to use a trademark, but it is necessary to consider the actual situation
The reporter checked the relevant registration information and found that the Xihua County Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup Association had registered the "Xiaoyao Town" trademark in January 2003, and the current status was normal.
The reporter's inquiry into the "Trademark Law" also stipulates that place names below the county level can be used as registered trademarks if there is no other reason for prohibiting the use and registration, but the registered trademarks of geographical names are generally strictly restricted, and the names of the places of origin of goods or services should be left to other manufacturers in the same place of origin for free use, and only place names that have nothing to do with the place of origin of goods or services and do not mislead consumers can be protected as trademarks.
In an exclusive interview with Dahe News, Wang Kepeng, a cooperative law firm of Dahe Newspaper, said that the Trademark Law stipulates that a trademark approved and registered by the Trademark Office is a registered trademark, and the trademark registrant enjoys the exclusive right to use the trademark for the registered trademark, and the use of a trademark that is identical or similar to its registered trademark (the font is the same, the meaning of the words is similar, etc.) on the same kind of goods or similar goods is an act of infringement of the exclusive right of the registered trademark.
Lawyer Wang Kepeng believes that the "Xihua County Xiaoyao Town Hu Spicy Soup Association" registered the three words "Xiaoyao Town" as a trademark in 2003, and it is true that it can claim its exclusive right to use, but if the merchant has used the trademark before registration in 2003, it can submit relevant evidence like the court to reduce or avoid punishment.
So, after the trademark registration in 2003, how to solve the problem that the merchant used the three words "Runaway Town"?
Lawyer Wang Kepeng told reporters that on the other hand, the court also has to determine whether it subjectively and deliberately uses trademarks. If the registered trademark (the actual infringer) is used subjectively and deliberately, resulting in serious losses to its brand, the use shall be stopped immediately and the relevant infringement fees shall be compensated. If the registered trademark is used deliberately and subjectively, the court may impose a penalty at its discretion, but it is not appropriate to expand the scope of the crackdown.
Lawyer Wang Kepeng also believes that as the traditional Henan food business card of Xiaoyao Town, Hu Spicy Soup should actively promote its inheritance and protection, from the legal level, there is no problem, but from the emotional point of view, try to consider the actual situation of the merchants, and then decide.
Source: Dahe News Editor: Chen Qiuyu