Point of View | Does the sale of refurbished auto parts constitute trademark infringement?
Published:
2024-09-30
Under normal circumstances, the replacement of auto parts does not exist again into the market, but some waste parts after renovation, can be used again. Then whether the sale of refurbished auto parts that have not removed the trademark on the original auto parts constitutes infringement needs to be determined according to the specific circumstances.
Under normal circumstances, the replacement of auto parts does not exist again into the market, but some waste parts after renovation, can be used again. Then whether the sale of refurbished auto parts that have not removed the trademark on the original auto parts constitutes infringement needs to be determined according to the specific circumstances.
Case gist
The parties in this case are mainly engaged in refurbishing the automobile gearbox assembly, recycling the used automobile gearbox assembly for disassembly, replacement of parts, reassembly, painting and other renovation, without removing the trademark on the original automobile parts and selling them. How to characterize the behavior should be determined according to the specific circumstances whether it belongs to trademark infringement. If it is expressly sold as refurbished parts by posting signs, one's own trademark, etc., and it is not easy to cause confusion, it is not a trademark infringement; if it is not expressly sold as refurbished parts, causing confusion, it is a trademark infringement.
Brief of the case
Plaintiff A Company is the world's largest commercial vehicle transmission production base and the world's high quality automotive transmission system supplier. It produces and sells 1.2 million sets of automobile transmissions and 50 million gears annually. The products are widely exported to more than 10 countries and regions such as North America, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, South America, and the Middle East. It has ranked among the top 30 of China's automobile industry, the top 100 of China's machinery industry, and the top 500 of China's manufacturing industry. It has more than 1700 core technology patents, won the "National Science and Technology Progress Award" "China Industry Award".
In October 2021, the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau received a report from Company A that a batch of goods infringing on the exclusive right to use the registered trademark of Company A were on sale in the business premises of Company B. The Market Supervision Administration inspected the business premises of Company B and found that the content of the report was true, and seized the infringing goods. After investigation by the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau: in December 2020, the parties purchased a batch of gearbox assembly auto parts from individuals, without purchase notes, contracts and other purchase vouchers, and could not provide proof of the legal source of the above-mentioned suspected infringing goods. After the purchase, the party concerned disassembled the gearbox assembly, checked and replaced the damaged parts, then assembled it, cleaned the surface after assembly, and painted the assembled gearbox assembly with self-painting. During the whole renovation process, the party concerned did not make any changes to the original trademark logo on the gearbox assembly, nor did he mark "remanufactured products or refurbished products" and other logos in any position, however, at the time of sale, the parties attached their own design signs, which used their own trademark logo and fictitious factory name. At the time of sale, the parties also verbally stated that the customers were refurbished parts. Of the 18 gearbox assemblies sealed up by this bureau, 9 have been renovated with signs designed by the parties themselves attached to their housings. 7 of the 9 have signs marked "gearbox assembly transmission co., ltd.", 2 have signs marked "xxx gearbox transmission co., ltd." and the remaining 9 have no signs designed by the parties themselves.
The Market Supervision and Administration Bureau believes that although the gearbox assembly renovated and sold by the parties concerned has not removed the trademark logo on the original automobile gearbox assembly, the parties concerned have verbally stated that the product is a renovated part at the time of sale, and the price gap between the product and the new product is huge, which is not easy to cause confusion and misunderstanding among consumers and does not constitute trademark infringement. however, when the parties in this case sold, they all attached the signboard designed by the parties themselves to the renovated gearbox shell. the signboard marked on the signboard was similar to the original producer's trademark, and the signboard marked "gearbox assembly transmission co., ltd." or "xxx gearbox transmission co., ltd." was a forged factory name, therefore, the party's act of repairing and selling the gearbox assembly with the logo plate designed by the party itself can easily lead to confusion and cause damage to the exclusive right of the registered trademark, but it is different from the illegal act of counterfeiting the registered trademark. Item (VII) of Article 57 of the the People's Republic of China Trademark Law "Any of the following acts is an infringement of the exclusive right of a registered trademark: (VII) causing other damage to the exclusive right of a registered trademark of others." The listed acts have constituted an illegal act of infringing upon the exclusive right to use a registered trademark. The party's refurbishment of the gearbox assembly with the logo plate designed by the party is not easy to cause confusion to consumers and does not constitute trademark infringement.
Based on this, the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau issued the ''Administrative Penalty Decision'', which determined that Company B sold goods that infringed on Company A's registered trademark exclusive rights, and decided to order the parties to immediately stop the infringement, confiscate and destroy the infringing goods, and impose a fine of 40,000 yuan., Turtle to the state treasury.
Lawyer Comments
When the trademark on the original auto parts is not removed and sold, it should be determined whether it belongs to trademark infringement according to the specific circumstances. If it is expressly sold as refurbished parts by posting signs, one's own trademark, etc., and it is not easy to cause confusion, it is not a trademark infringement; if it is not expressly sold as refurbished parts, causing confusion, it is a trademark infringement.
To sum up, we must be cautious when selling refurbished auto parts. When the trademark on the original auto parts is not removed, consumers should be informed that the parts belong to refurbished parts, and other signs should not be posted casually to prevent confusion and infringement.
Relevant laws and regulations
Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 57Any of the following acts shall be an infringement of the exclusive right to use a registered trademark:
A (I) uses a trademark identical to its registered trademark on the same kind of goods without the permission of the trademark registrant;
(II), without the permission of the trademark registrant, uses a trademark similar to its registered trademark on the same commodity, or uses a trademark identical or similar to its registered trademark on similar commodities, which is likely to cause confusion;
(III) sales of goods infringing upon the exclusive right to use a registered trademark;
(IV) forges or manufactures, without authorization, a registered trademark logo of another person or sells a registered trademark logo that is forged or manufactured without authorization;
Without the consent of the trademark registrant, the (V) replaces its registered trademark and puts the goods with the replaced trademark on the market again;
(VI) intentionally providing convenient conditions for the infringement of another person's exclusive right to use a trademark and helping another person to commit the infringement of the exclusive right to use a trademark;
(VII) cause other damage to another person's exclusive right to use a registered trademark.
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