Puma Takes "Mopping Up" Action To Safeguard Rights In China

Some time ago, several men came to a sports goods store in Qinhuai District and bought a pair of "Pumas" worth more than 50 yuan gym shoes , and asked for the shoe purchase invoice. Shortly afterwards, the shopkeeper received a subpoena from the court, saying that he had been sued by Puma Europe.

On September 20, the case Nanjing The trial of the Intermediate People's Court began, and the lawyer entrusted by Puma Europe came to court for litigation, but the defendant was absent. The court heard the case in absentia on the grounds that the defendant "did not appear in court without proper reasons", but no judgment was pronounced.

　　 Buy a pair of Puma shoes for more than 50 yuan

Some time ago, several well-dressed men came to a sports goods store in Qinhuai District. The store was small, close to the road, and the shelves were full of brand sports shoes Sportswear 。 After careful shopping, several people finally chose a black Puma sneaker. The shoes are very good in style and workmanship, but the price is only more than 50 yuan, hundreds of yuan cheaper than the same style in the formal shopping mall. After paying the money, the customer asked for an invoice, and then several people hurried away.

The boss did not know that these men were agents entrusted by Puma Europe and notaries of the notary office. According to the company's requirements, authorized agents visited many stores and large markets in Nanjing, and found that many stores were selling fake Puma sports products. The company asked them to do a good job in obtaining evidence and choose litigation to protect their rights according to the situation.

After the preparations were made, Puma Europe filed a complaint against the store and its owner, Fan, to the Nanjing Intermediate People's Court. After the court served the summons, Fan did not appear in court to answer the lawsuit as required, nor did he provide the court with a valid reason for not appearing in court. Therefore, yesterday, the court heard the case by default.

Puma's attorney showed a pair of sealed sneakers and invoices in court, pointing out that the shoes used the registered trademarks of "Cougar" and "PUMA" on the tongue, heel and other parts, which constituted Trademark infringement 。

　　 Only 40000 yuan is claimed this time

According to Puma's appeal, in addition to asking the store to stop selling infringing goods and destroy them, they also asked for a compensation of 40000 yuan, and asked it to publish an apology statement in the local media.

"The amount of the claim is very low, just symbolic." The lawyer said in court that the claim amount of 40000 yuan includes attorney fees, notarial preservation fees and other related costs. According to the relevant provisions of the Trademark Law, the amount of compensation for infringement of the exclusive right to use a trademark is "the benefit obtained" by the infringer or "the loss suffered" by the infringee. However, for many merchants' sales behavior, it is difficult to verify their profits or infringement losses. In this case, it is stipulated that the court can award compensation of less than 500000 yuan according to the corresponding circumstances, but this time only 40000 yuan is claimed.

The reporter learned from various sources that Puma's rights protection in China is "mopping up", that is, to choose multiple infringers in one place and litigate one by one. Since 2008, Puma has filed dozens of lawsuits in Guangdong, Hainan and other provinces. This is the first time in Nanjing. The judge clearly asked Puma's attorney whether he would use similar techniques to bring more cases to court. The lawyer said that it would be decided by the company.

The lawyer said that the company did not want to "ask for money", but hoped to "shock" those who sell fake Puma products in this way and voluntarily give up the infringement of Puma trademarks.