Compiled from: Red Star News, JuFa
 
Case review
Recently, dozens of snack shop owners from cities like Zhengzhou, Luoyang, and Jiaozuo in Henan Province reported that they were sued by the Shaanxi "Tongguan Roujiamo Association" for using the word "Tongguan" in their roujiamo, demanding compensation ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. If they want to continue using the "Tongguan Roujiamo" trademark, they need to pay nearly 100,000 yuan. According to Tianyancha, the Tongguan Roujiamo Association currently has 210 court announcements, all involving trademark infringement disputes, with litigation spanning multiple provinces including Inner Mongolia, Henan, and Jilin.

 
 

It is reported that the Tongguan Roujiamo Association is a social organization legal person, with its business scope including improving production tools for Tongguan snacks, unifying product standards, coordinating inter-industry relations, organizing market research, exchanging industry information, providing snack technology training, and supplying finished seasonings and related raw materials to snack shop operators; its activity area is within Tongguan County.
 
The Tongguan Roujiamo Association is the registered trademark owner of the geographical indication collective trademark No. 14369*, with the approved goods being Roujiamo in Class 30, and the registration valid from December 14, 2015, renewed to December 13, 2025.

 
 

The "Tongguan Roujiamo Geographical Indication Collective Trademark Usage Management Rules" stipulate that to use this collective trademark, the roujiamo produced and sold must come from the Tongguan County area and meet specific quality characteristics; users must apply to the Tongguan Roujiamo Association for permission. Non-members of the Tongguan Roujiamo Association who use a trademark identical or similar to this collective trademark on collective trademark goods without authorization may be sued by the Tongguan Roujiamo Association in the People's Court.
 
 
Article 57 of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China
Any of the following acts constitutes an infringement of the exclusive right to use a registered trademark:
(1) Using a trademark identical to a registered trademark on the same goods without the permission of the trademark registrant;
(2) Using a trademark that is similar to a registered trademark on the same goods, or using a trademark that is identical or similar to a registered trademark on similar goods, without the permission of the trademark registrant, where such use is likely to cause confusion;
(3) Selling goods that infringe upon the exclusive right to use a registered trademark;
(4) Counterfeiting or manufacturing without authorization the labels of another person's registered trademark, or selling such counterfeited or unauthorized labels;
(5) Replacing another person's registered trademark with a different trademark without the consent of the trademark registrant and putting the goods with the replaced trademark back into the market;
(6) Intentionally providing convenient conditions for acts that infringe upon another person's exclusive right to use a trademark, or assisting others in committing such infringement;
(7) Causing other damage to another person's exclusive right to use a registered trademark.

 

 
[1] Court Opinion
The court held that the Tongguan Roujiamo Association owns collective trademark No. 14369*, which is still valid, and the plaintiff's exclusive right to use the registered trademark is legally protected, entitling it to file this lawsuit. Based on the notarized evidence, the defendant used "Lao Tongguan Roujiamo" on its store sign and roujiamo packaging, with prominent placement that objectively identifies the source of the goods, constituting trademark use. The defendant's allegedly infringing product is roujiamo, which is identical to the goods designated by the plaintiff's trademark.
 
Upon comparison, the allegedly infringing "Lao Tongguan Roujiamo" mark is identical in text and pronunciation to the "Tongguan Roujiamo" in trademark No. 14369*. The use of this allegedly infringing mark is likely to cause relevant consumers to misidentify the source of the roujiamo, constituting similarity. Therefore, the court determined that the defendant's actions infringed on the plaintiff's exclusive right to use registered trademark No. 14369*, and the defendant must bear civil liability for ceasing infringement and compensating for losses.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
However, the China National Intellectual Property Administration holds a distinctly different view on this matter. On November 26, the Administration stated at a press conference that "Tongguan Roujiamo" is a geographical indication registered as a collective trademark, and its registrant has no right to license the use of this geographical indication collective trademark to merchants outside the Tongguan specific area or collect franchise fees. Additionally, it has no right to prohibit merchants within the Tongguan specific area from legitimately using the place name in this geographical indication collective trademark.
 
Currently, due to widespread attention to this matter, the Tongguan County government has intervened in the investigation. This case shows that the registration and use of trademarks cannot be rigidly uniform, especially for trademarks with local geographical indication significance. Given China's vast territory and abundant resources, many places have local specialty foods, such as "Xiaoyao Town Spicy Soup," "Xinjiang Hami Melon," and "Turpan Grapes." Therefore, when handling similar incidents, relevant departments must not only protect intellectual property rights according to law but also prevent the abuse of intellectual property rights, strengthen administrative guidance on the protection and use of trademarks by all parties, and properly balance the interests of trademark holders, market entities, and the public.