"Jueweiyabo" is a snack brand well known to Chinese consumers, and its storefronts can be found in every street of China. Recently, Jueweiyabo filed a lawsuit against Juewei Liangpi, a snack bar in a county town in Anhui Province.

Reports say that Juewei Food Co., Ltd. has acquired the exclusive right to use the registered trademark "Juewei". The registered trademark approved for use in Class 29 includes dried salted duck, dead poultry, pork food, bone marrow of edible animals, sausage, pickled vegetables, dried meat, tofu products, etc., and was recognized as a well-known trademark in October 2010.

In its business, Juewei Company found that a shop named "Juewei Liangpi" in Chengguan Town, Wuhe County, Bengbu City, Anhui Province was suspicious of infringement against the trademark right of "Juewei", so it brought the owner of the shop to the court, and requested the court to order the defendant to stop the infringement and compensate 30,000 yuan. According to Juewei Company, the trademark "Juewei" has been well-known and influential after long-term use by Juewei Company, and has been widely known by the relevant public with high significance and high identifiability. In fact, "Juewei" is not a fixed vocabulary in modern Chinese language, but an imaginary word. The court shall deem the snack bar obvious subjective malice of infringement.

The court of first instance held that the defendant used the word "Juewei" on the signboard of his store, which described the quality of its goods, and belonged to legitimate use, hence having no subjective intention to cling to the registered trademark of Juewei Company. The word "Juewei" (which means “wonderful taste”) itself is a description of food quality, which has its historical origin and is a common vocabulary of the public, and as a trademark, its significance is not prominent. Accordingly, the court of first instance ruled against all claims of Juewei Food Co., Ltd.

Juewei Company refused to accept the first-instance judgment and instituted an appeal. 

In its second instance trial, Bengbu Intermediate People's Court held that the defendant snack bar was an individual commercial household, and its business scope was catering services, which did not belong to the same or similar goods and services as the related contents in the service scope approved by the trademark of Juewei Company. Secondly, "Juewei" is not an imaginary word, but has the meaning of "wonderful taste". The text size and font used in the signboard "Juewei Liangpi" of the defendant snack bar are obviously different from the word "Juewei" registered in the trademark of Juewei Company. The word "Juewei" is not used separately and prominently, and "Juewei" is not a significant identification part. The defendant's snack bar is located in Chengguan Town, Wuhe County. In terms of the general attention of the relevant public, it is not easy for consumers to confuse the source of service.

The court of second instance then rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment. This judgment is final.