In retrial of the case where the applicant Shenzhen Times Weike Welding Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Weike Company) sued the respondent Zhejiang Laoston Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Laoston Company) infringed the trademark rights, Weike Company to accept the civil judgment of Ningbo Intermediate People's Court of Zhejiang Province (2020) Zhejiang 02 Zhong No.4306, and applies to Zhejiang Higher People's Court for retrial. 

In the lawsuit, Weike Company claimed that according to Article 18 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, only the civil rights of foreigners and foreign enterprises in China are protected by Chinese laws. Foreign enterprises outside China entrust OEM processing of their trademarks registered abroad to enterprises within China, and the trademark rights registered abroad by foreign enterprises shall not be protected by Chinese laws. 

Zhejiang Higher People's Court held that when people's courts try trademark infringement disputes involving foreign-related licensing processing, they should fully consider the overall situation of domestic and international economic development, make a concrete analysis of trademark infringement disputes in specific periods, specific markets and specific transaction forms, accurately apply laws, and balance the interests of trademark owners and licensing processing parties. In this case, first of all, the sued behavior of Laoston Company is a foreign-related licensing processing behavior within the scope of legal authorization. Balaban, the individual responsible shareholder and head of enterprise management of Stahlwerk Company in Germany, applied for registration of the trademark "STAHLWERK" (Reg. No. 302009021017) in Germany on April 8, 2009, and approved the use of electric welding machines with commodity category 7. Balaban issued a power of attorney as the owner of Stahlwerk Company of Germany and the trademark registrant of "STAHLWERK", confirming that Stahlwerk Company of Germany authorized Lauston Company to use the trademark of "STAHLWERK" on electric welding machine products and product outer boxes on October 25, 2017. The alleged infringing goods were commissioned by Stahlwerk Company of Germany for licensing production, and the trademark "STAHLWERK" authorized by Stahlwerk Company of Germany was used in the licensing production process, and the alleged infringing goods were finally exported to Germany and sold in Germany. Secondly, the way Weike Company exercises trademark rights in this case violates the principle of good faith. Article 7.1 of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that the principle of good faith shall be followed when applying for registration and use of trademarks. In this case, Stahlwerk Company of Germany was established in 1998, and had been operating electric welding machines and other commodities since its establishment. After that, Balaban, the personal responsible shareholder and head of enterprise management of the company, applied for registration of the trademark "STAHLWERK" on electric welding machine commodities in Germany in April 2009. According to E-mail records, Bailian Company, a one-person limited liability company wholly owned by Chen Dongping, the legal representative of Weike Company, had business dealings with Stahlwerk Company of Germany around 2010, and designed the processing products of Stahlwerk Company. In the investigation and inquiry of the court of first instance, Weike Company also said that Bailian Company had a three-year-long agency cooperation with Stahlwerk Company ever since its establishment in 2008. Knowing the existence of German Stahlwerk Company and "STAHLWERK" trademark, and its affiliated company has been entrusted by Stahlwerk Company to design and process the brand products in China, Weike Company still applied for registration of the same trademark on the same commodity in China, and then, based on this trademark, filed an infringement lawsuit against Lauston Company authorized by Stahlwerk Company for ordering and processing the alleged infringing goods in China. The way Weike Company exercising the trademark right in this case was unfair and violated the principle of good faith. 

To sum up, the judgment of the second instance found that the sued behavior of Laoston Company did not infringe the exclusive right to use the trademark involved, and there was nothing improper. Finally, Zhejiang Higher People's Court rejected the retrial application of Shenzhen Times Weike Welding Technology Co., Ltd.