In the city without central heating, "hardcover room with floor heating" has become the signboard of many new real estate to attract buyers, but the concealment of floor heating has provided convenience for some unscrupulous businesses to "dark warehouse". Just like the owner of a residential community in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, he did not find that he was "pitted" when he received the house, until the appearance of a fake and shoddy product "description" made the fake floor heating pipe hidden underground "appear".
A few days ago, after the Nanjing Railway Transport Procuratorate (hereinafter referred to as the "Nanjing Railway Procuratorate") initiated a public prosecution, the court sentenced the defendant Li to two years and two months in prison, suspended for two years and three months, and fined him for the crime of counterfeiting registered trademarks; Wang was sentenced to one year and eleven months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and fined; The defendants, a construction decoration engineering limited company and a pipe industry limited company, were fined.
Use fake underfloor heating pipes to hide from the world
In January 2023, a "Description on Fake and Shoddy Products of Floor Heating in the Community" suddenly appeared on the bulletin board of a residential community in Nanjing. To the surprise of the owners of the community, this description actually came from Zhang, the floor heating construction party of the community. Zhang said in the explanation that Wang, a supplier of floor heating pipes in the community, provided fake goods, and he was also deceived as a construction party, and informed the owner of the method of identifying the real and fake. Some owners compared the heating pipes in the interior of their houses according to the situation in the description, and found that they were indeed counterfeit and shoddy products, and immediately reported to the District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau.
After receiving the report materials from the owners of the community, the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau immediately launched an investigation, and the facts of Wang's suspected illegal and criminal counterfeiting of registered trademarks surfaced......
50-year-old Wang is the person in charge of a building decoration engineering Co., Ltd., the company's business scope includes floor heating and other engineering construction and installation business. At an exhibition, Wang got acquainted with Li, the person in charge of a pipe industry limited company that produces floor heating pipes.
In August 2021, Wang's company signed the "Floor Heating Project Contracting Contract" with a real estate development Co., Ltd. in Nanjing through bidding, and agreed to use a designated brand of floor heating pipes. In order to make profits, Wang customized more than 120,000 meters of floor heating pipes from Li at a price of more than 210,000 yuan, and asked Li to directly use a inkjet printer to put the trademark of the brand specified in the contract on the floor heating pipes produced by Li's company. Wang also printed a sticker with the designated brand trademark and asked Li to stick it on the outer packaging of the finished floor heating pipe. Li knew that he could not use someone else's registered trademark without permission, but in order to make money, he still did it.
Because when the construction supervisor checked whether the floor heating pipe was a product agreed in the contract, he basically only checked the trademark style on the outer packaging and the trademark on the floor heating pipe pipe.
However, paper can't contain fire after all. "During the construction of the floor heating of the house, we found that the floor heating pipe used this time, whether it is the outer packaging or the pipe itself, is different from the one used in the model room. After the construction was completed, we were still not at ease, so we went to consult the genuine merchant, and they said that we were not using the genuine product. Zhang, as the floor heating construction party, introduced the reason for the posting to the investigators, "We feel that Wang, as a provider of floor heating pipes, has deceived the real estate developer and the owner, as well as us, so we simply told the owner the truth." ”
Because the amount involved in the case exceeded 50,000 yuan, the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau transferred the case to the public security organ. On February 13, 2023, the public security organs filed a case for investigation on suspicion of counterfeiting registered trademarks.
Verify the quality of the underfloor heating pipes to give the owner peace of mind
Because the vital interests of more than 300 owners were involved, the public security organs invited the Nanjing Railway Inspection Institute to intervene in accordance with the law to guide the investigation.
"For the owner, when the house is finely decorated and delivered, it is easier to pay attention to the kitchen and bathroom, floor and other surface-mounted hardcover projects, the floor heating pipe is buried under the floor, it is difficult to find its quality, brand and other problems, if the owner moves in, the floor heating pipe is blocked and burst during the use of the situation, the property loss caused is often more heavy." After understanding the basic situation of the case, the procurator in charge immediately decided to identify whether the product quality was qualified or not at the first time.
After the entrusted appraisal, the quality appraisal agency issued a test report on the sample of the floor heating pipe involved in the case. After inspection, the pipe wall thickness, combustion performance grade, hydrostatic strength and other parameters of the samples submitted for inspection all meet the technical requirements stipulated by the state, and the product is qualified. In order to reassure the owner, the prosecutor suggested that the public security organ promptly inform the owner of the appraisal opinion that the product quality is qualified.
After learning that there was no problem with the quality of the floor heating pipes themselves, the owners of the community had different demands. Some owners advocated that they should use the brand floor heating pipes that the developer said at that time; Some owners think that their houses are now occupied, and it is not necessary to reopen the floor to replace them, but they are still worried about the maintenance problems after problems in future use.
In response to the demands of different owners, in the process of handling the case, the procuratorate urged the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau and the public security organ to communicate with the developer many times to help the owner solve the problem. After communication, some owners who are willing to replace the floor heating pipes have successfully replaced and installed genuine floor heating pipes, and the owners who have not replaced them have signed a warranty agreement with the developer, which has successfully resolved the knot in the hearts of the owners.
The comprehensive performance of duties warms the hearts of rights holders
The prosecutor handling the case inspected the replacement of floor heating pipes at the scene.
"In this case, the actions of Wang and Li not only infringed on the rights and interests of the owner, but also infringed on the legitimate rights and interests of the trademark owner of the genuine floor heating pipe." When reviewing the case, the prosecutor held that "the trademark owner not only loses the due order income, but also has a negative impact on the reputation and reputation of the brand once there is a problem with the subsequent counterfeit brand floor heating pipe in the process of use by the owner." ”
On December 29, 2023, the Nanjing Railway Procuratorate prosecuted the case to the court on suspicion of counterfeiting registered trademarks. In order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the trademark owner to the greatest extent, the prosecutor in charge actively guided the trademark owner Company A to file a civil lawsuit attached to the criminal case. On February 6 this year, the Nanjing Railway Procuratorate and the court jointly mediated the attached civil litigation part of the case, and the two defendants reached a mediation agreement with the trademark owner Company A on the civil compensation part, and paid the compensation to Company A in a lump sum on February 11 to obtain the company's understanding.
On March 11 this year, the court held a trial of the case, and comprehensively considered the sentencing circumstances such as admitting guilt and accepting punishment, confession, and positive compensation, and the court made the above judgment against the defendant unit and the defendants Li and Wang.
(Source: Procuratorate Daily, Rule of Law News Edition Author: Guan Ying, Shi Jianqi, Gao Qian)
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