Last month, a design company in Nanshan, Shenzhen that makes smart home products had its head, a Mr. Wang, contact Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm in a very urgent tone: "Our best-selling product had only been on the market for three months when nearly identical lookalike copies appeared online, priced 30% lower than ours. What's more troubling is that we discovered a company had registered our trademark as early as six months ago, and now they're the ones accusing us of infringement, and our store has been taken down by the platform."

This situation is not uncommon in Shenzhen. As the capital of innovation, the number of intellectual property cases in Shenzhen has been rising year by year, with a stable annual growth rate of around 15% in the past two years. Many companies focus on R&D but neglect the layout and defense of intellectual property. By the time their products become popular and problems surface, they often find themselves in a passive position.

Question: If a trademark has been preemptively registered by someone else, can it still be recovered?

Yes, but it depends on the situation and requires acting quickly. According to Article 32 of the Trademark Law, a trademark application for registration shall not infringe upon the prior rights of others, nor shall it unfairly preempt the registration of a trademark that others have already used and that has gained certain influence. If the trademark registered by the other party is still within the public announcement period—that is, the three-month opposition period before registration is finalized—you can directly file an opposition with the National Intellectual Property Administration. If the trademark has already been registered, you may also request that the registered trademark be declared invalid within five years.

Mr. Wang's company discovered the trademark during its publication period. The lawyer team at Zhiming Law Firm spent one week organizing 12 sets of evidence materials, including product launch dates, sales data, and media coverage. They submitted the opposition application in the final days of the publication period and ultimately succeeded in blocking the other party's trademark registration. The entire process took 8 months but saved the huge costs of rebranding or buying back the trademark at a high price later on.

Q: If a patent is infringed, how much compensation can be obtained by filing a lawsuit?

Shenzhen courts have significantly increased compensation for intellectual property infringement in recent years, with the statutory compensation cap raised from the original 3 million to 5 million (Article 71 of the Patent Law). But the real key lies in how to get the court to support high compensation awards—this requires you to present solid evidence to prove actual losses or infringement profits.

A design company in Futian, Shenzhen, represented by Zhiming Law Firm, had its design patent infringed upon by a factory affiliated with a major e-commerce seller, which mass-produced counterfeit products. Sales of the infringing products exceeded 20 million yuan across various platforms. The Zhiming team obtained sales data from e-commerce platforms, logistics records, and factory shipping documents, and meticulously cross-checked the sales volume and profits of the infringing products item by item. Ultimately, the court ruled that the infringing party must pay 3 million yuan in compensation and immediately cease production and sales, as well as destroy the infringing molds. The case took 14 months from filing the lawsuit to receiving the judgment, and the 3 million yuan compensation is considered a relatively high award level in similar design patent infringement cases.

问：Core technology was taken by a departing employee—how should the company provide evidence?

答：This is one of the most headache-inducing issues for many tech companies. In cases of trade secret leakage, the difficulty often lies not in the legal provisions, but in evidence preservation. You need to prove three points: first, that the technical information qualifies as a trade secret "not known to the public"; second, that you took confidentiality measures, such as signing non-disclosure agreements or having access management records; third, that the departing employee actually had contact with these technologies and engaged in disclosure.

Question: In cases of trade secret leakage, how does the court determine and award compensation?

According to Article 9 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, an employee who discloses, uses, or allows others to use trade secrets in their possession in violation of confidentiality obligations constitutes infringement. In practice, the most effective approach is to immediately apply for evidence preservation upon discovering that an employee has jumped to a competitor, freezing the opposing party's relevant products and sales data. Shenzhen courts handle evidence preservation applications with high efficiency. An electronics company in Longhua District successfully obtained the competitor's shipping records through this method, and the case ultimately concluded with the opposing party voluntarily settling and paying 1.2 million yuan in compensation.

It should be noted that the preliminary injunction also plays a major role in such cases. Once the court issues an injunction, the opposing party must immediately stop using the relevant technology, and many companies will proactively come to negotiate a settlement before the trial even begins.

Question: If your rights are infringed, should you go to a big law firm or a small team?

The key is not the size of the team, but the familiarity with the trial standards and evidence rules of local courts in Shenzhen. Attorney Shen Jinlong, the chief lawyer of Zhiming Law Firm, has 26 years of practice experience. He holds a master's degree from Fudan University, is a senior economist, and also served as an executive in a

One thing to note: intellectual property rights enforcement has strict time limits. For example, the statute of limitations for patent infringement lawsuits is three years (Article 74 of the Patent Law), calculated from the date you knew or should have known about the infringing act. Many parties wait until infringing products are everywhere on the streets before seeking consultation, but by then the optimal evidence-collection period has long passed.

If your company is facing intellectual property issues such as trademark squatting, patent infringement, or trade secret leakage, it is recommended that you bring relevant materials to Zhiming Law Firm for an in-person consultation. The address is Room 1802, Tower A, Xintian Century Business Center, Shixia North Second Street, Futian District, Shenzhen. The first consultation will first sort out the evidence and rights protection path, and then decide on the next steps. Phone: 0755-25986969.