Opel Lighting, which had twice discounted its IPO, finally saw the "dawn" in March this year, and the SFC issued a notice saying that Opel Lighting's IPO application was approved.
However, after the IPO meeting, Opel Lighting was involved in the IP whirlpool. It was sued to Chaoyang District Court of Beijing for infringement of trademarks on switch sockets, wiring boards and other electrical products, and was asked to compensate 50 million yuan.
On May 16, the reporter learned from OPL Lighting that the lawsuit has entered the trial stage, but has not yet been closed. "At present, there is no impact on the company; and we are confident that the lawsuit will have a fair, fair and just trial result, which will not have a negative impact on the company."
However, from the point of view of the lawsuit, OPL Lighting still omitted some product trademark protection. Liu Kai, a lawyer of Hunan Wensheng Law Firm, said that enterprises should make an advance layout on trademark issues.
OPPLE is claimed by OUPU for 50 million yuan
On March 9, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued an announcement of the audit results, which showed that OP Lighting was approved for the first time. This is the third time that the domestic lighting giant has declared an IPO since it first hit the IPO in 2013. The process is arduous.
Unexpectedly, after the meeting, Opel Lighting has not yet officially listed on the market, it will encounter problems. According to the Evening News of the Legal System, Mr. Wang and others sued OP Lighting to the court to stop the infringement immediately because they believed that OP Lighting used the trademark "OP" in the business activities of packaging, commercial promotion and distribution of electrical and industrial products such as switch sockets and wiring boards, which infringed on their exclusive right to use the trademark.
Reporters learned that Mr. Wang and others hold the trademark name "OPOUPU", which is the ninth category of trademarks, namely "cable; telephone line; wire; regulated power supply; wire connector; coil; electrical connector; cable connector sleeve; plug; vacuum electronic tube (radio); socket and other contactors (electrical connectors). No. 1423367.
Reporters from the State Administration of Industry and Commerce website query found that the trademark was first registered in January 1999, approved in July 2000, valid until July 20, 2020. Trademark transfer was carried out in 2002 and 2010. Currently, the applicants are Wang Shaoye and Zhang Wen.
Mr. Wang believes that although the name of the company is "Op Lighting", it only has the trademark right of "Op" in lighting products, while the trademark right of "Op" in electrical products such as switch sockets and wiring boards does not belong to Op Lighting.
On the other hand, OPPLE Lighting said that it used "OPPLE OPPLE lighting" in its products, and "OPPLE lighting" is only the defendant's own enterprise name, not a trademark, while the English "OPPLE" and "OUPU" are different, which will not cause confusion and misunderstanding among consumers, so it does not constitute trademark infringement.
In addition, Opel Lighting also said in its reply to reporters that Opel Lighting also owns OPPLE English, graphic trademarks, and "Opel" text trademarks in Category 9.
Lawyers say it's important for trademarks to be laid out in advance.
It is noteworthy that OPL Lighting's prospectus for listing has also become one of the evidences for the plaintiff to list the "infringement amount" of OPL Lighting.
According to the prospectus, Opel Lighting's "Lighting Control and Other" business income was 492 million yuan in 2013, of which 45.85% were "electrician" products and 52.02% were gross profit. In 2014, Opel Lighting's "Lighting Control and Other" business income was 677 million yuan, of which 37.86% were "electrician" products and 50.66% were gross profit.
Accordingly, the aforementioned three people, Mr. Wang and others, believe that the benefits of OP lighting infringement (two years) exceed 50 million yuan, so they claim for economic losses of 50 million yuan.
In fact, OP Lighting's prospectus also discloses that "OP" was recognized as a "well-known trademark in China" as early as 2007. By the end of 2014, the company had 85 domestic trademarks and 112 overseas trademarks.
In addition, according to OPL Lighting sources, OPL Lighting not only employs professional agencies for trademark monitoring, but also through administrative, civil, criminal and other judicial means to safeguard rights, "In 2015, there are more than 360 cases of trademark counterfeiting, on average, every day there are cases of safeguarding rights."
Unfortunately, even so, Opel Lighting still failed to avoid trouble this time. "Trademark layout in advance is very important," said lawyer Liu Kai. Trademark protection in our country is based on the principle of application first. Therefore, enterprises are constantly growing in business. Trademark protection should be placed at the strategic level of the company's development, and the company's products and service trademarks that may be involved in the future should be laid out in advance.
According to Liu Kai, trademark protection should be considered from the perspective of rational use and protection as far as possible in light of the actual situation. "The trademarks of products and services involved in the three or five-year meeting must be registered and protected. In addition, in the case of sufficient funds, trademarks can be protected by registration of all kinds to prevent malicious preemption, hitchhiking and even facing tort litigation. In addition, if the operation involves foreign countries, the trademark layout should be carried out in the corresponding countries and regions in advance.