"When you eat noodles, you use 'noodle fresh'", as a representative product of Jiajia Food Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jiajia Food"), "noodle fresh" is very popular. In recent years, "noodle fresh" has actually been facing intellectual property disputes.
The Beijing News reporter learned that when the Hunan Provincial High People's Court recently released ten typical cases, it showed that the "noodle fresh" dispute between Jiajia Food and Sichuan Qingxiangyuan Condiment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Sichuan Qingxiangyuan") was among them. The case took four years, and after three trials, the Hunan Provincial High Court finally found that Sichuan Qingxiangyuan's use of the name "noodle fresh" on soy sauce products constituted unfair competition.
The "noodle fresh" controversy
"Noodle Fresh" soy sauce is a product launched by Jiajia Food in 2009, which was popular as soon as it was launched, and its sales area spread throughout the country. In 2012, Sichuan Qingxiangyuan also developed a Zhongba "noodle fresh" soy sauce, the product in the packaging, label are prominent use of the "noodle fresh" text, and in November of that year listed, mainly in Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou and other places to sell.
Jiajia Food believes that there is a competitive relationship between Qingxiangyuan and Jiajia Food, and the prominent use of the word "noodle fresh" on the packaging and label of soy sauce infringes its exclusive right to use the unique name "noodle fresh" of well-known commodities. In 2016, Jiajia Food sued Qingxiangyuan to the Yuelu District People's Court in Changsha City, demanding that Qingxiangyuan stop using the well-known commodity's unique name "Noodle Fresh". In November 2017, the court rendered a first-instance judgment ordering Qingxiangyuan to stop using the well-known commodity's unique name "Noodle Fresh" and to compensate for economic losses of RMB350,000.
Sichuan Qingxiangyuan appealed to the Changsha Intermediate People's Court against the first-instance judgment. On July 31, 2018, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court held that "fresh noodles" is the basis for consumers to distinguish between different types of condiments rather than the basis for distinguishing the source of products, and does not constitute a "unique name" stipulated in China's Anti-Unfair Competition Law. The available evidence is also insufficient to prove that the use of "noodle fresh" by Seiyo Garden could lead to confusion among the relevant public with the addition of "noodle fresh" soy sauce. Accordingly, the second-instance judgment revoked the first-instance judgment.
Jiajia Food was not satisfied with the second-instance judgment and applied to the Hunan Provincial High People's Court for a retrial. The Hunan Provincial High Court held in a public hearing on July 29, 2019 that Jiajia Food launched a new product "noodle fresh" soy sauce in 2009, which was publicized nationwide, with large sales, high market share, and a certain market popularity, which was known to the relevant public and should be recognized as a well-known commodity. The name "noodle fresh" has a specific connection with the well-known products of Jiajia Food in the minds of consumers, and has the distinctive characteristics of similar goods that distinguish it from other operators. The "noodle fresh" soy sauce produced by Sichuan Qingxiangyuan and the "noodle fresh" soy sauce are the same products, and both parties prominently use the "noodle fresh" text logo in a prominent position on the packaging, which is enough to cause consumers to misunderstand the source of the goods, and Qingxiangyuan's use of the "noodle fresh" product name on soy sauce products constitutes unfair competition. On November 18, 2019, the Hunan Provincial Higher People's Court ruled in its final judgment: revoke the second-instance judgment of the Intermediate People's Court of Changsha City, Hunan Province, and uphold the first-instance judgment of the Yuelu District People's Court of Changsha City, Hunan Province.
On May 18, 2020, a reporter from the Beijing News called Jiajia Food on this case, and Jiajia Food said that "noodle fresh", "original brewing" and "salt reduction soy sauce" are the three major products of Jiajia food soy sauce category, which is an important business composition of the company. The "noodle fresh" dispute will eventually end with the victory of Jiajia Food, which will promote the market sales of three major soy sauce products represented by "noodle fresh".
On the same day, the Beijing News reporter called Sichuan Qingxiangyuan according to the contact information of Tianyancha, and the answerer said that he did not know about the matter. The Beijing News reporter searched for "noodle fresh" in The Middle Dam of Sichuan Qingxiang Garden on major e-commerce platforms and found that relevant products could not be found.
It is difficult for "well-known goods" to protect their rights
The four-year infringement case ended in a successful lawsuit by Jiajia Food, which was also recognized by the Hunan Provincial High People's Court as one of the typical cases of trademark intellectual property rights. The judges involved in this case believe that the judgment in this case is conducive to guiding market entities to operate in good faith.
"This is a case of unfair competition of 'well-known goods', infringing on the unique name of 'well-known goods', and the results of the Trial of the Hunan Supreme People's Court are also reasonable." Chen Ruojian of Duan he (Beijing) Law Firm said.
In recent years, with the development of the food industry, there have been numerous incidents of unfair competition in the food field regarding well-known commodities. In October 2019, the nougat and plum candy produced and sold by a beijing confectionery company used the similar packaging and decoration of the "Great White Rabbit- Hundred Flowers Brand" peanut nougat and the "Great White Rabbit - Tianshan Brand" cream nougat of Shanghai Guanshengyuan Food Co., Ltd., which were ruled by the court to constitute unfair competition. As early as 2009, Jumancang Company was judged by the Jiangyin Municipal People's Court of Jiangsu Province to constitute unfair competition because its production of "crispy rice" was similar to the packaging of the well-known brand "crispy rice" produced by Mars.
Chen Ruojian also said that it is more difficult to protect the rights of "well-known commodities". To identify a well-known product, it is necessary to consider the sales time, sales area, sales volume and sales object of the product, the duration, extent and geographical scope of any publicity. According to the principle of "who claims who proves" in civil litigation, the plaintiff needs to bear the burden of proof for the market popularity of its goods. This is generally more difficult. This type of lawsuit is more difficult to fight and will take a long time. Chen Ruojian said.
Beijing News reporter Liu Huan
Edited by Zhu Fenglan Proofreader Li Shihui