Sam Fined 30,000 Yuan: Do Not Misuse Patent Advertising

Compiled from: Southern Metropolis Daily, Shenzhen News Network
 
Sam's (Shanghai) Supermarket Co., Ltd. was recently administratively fined 30,000 yuan by the Yangpu District Market Supervision Administration of Shanghai for falsely claiming patent rights in an advertisement for a Japanese-style beef pan-fried dumpling product.

 
 

Case review
In response, a Sam's customer service representative stated that no relevant national patent content introduction has been found for this product.
 
It is reported that the invention patent in question was previously filed by the manufacturer of the product, aiming to address the issue of needing to precisely control the amount of oil and water and the long cooking time when pan-frying dumplings, and it is currently in the “substantive examination effective” status. The manufacturer has also filed an invention patent for “pan-fried dumplings with potato and kimchi filling,” aiming to address the issue that potatoes have not been applied in the field of dumplings.
 
According to the administrative penalty decision disclosed on the official website of the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, on November 24, 2022, Sam's Club listed a Japanese-style beef pan-fried dumpling product and published an advertisement with promotional text stating “a nationally patented emulsified spray process, using oil-water emulsification, rapidly frozen formed broth filling, no need for oil-water frying, and can automatically form hotel chef-level crispy ice flowers,” accompanied by an image of a patent application acceptance notice from the China National Intellectual Property Administration.
 
After the incident, the patent mentioned in the advertisement was still under examination and had not yet been approved or granted. Sam's Club voluntarily took corrective action on March 7 of this year by discontinuing all content related to “national patent” on the advertising page, while the product remained on sale. The above conduct violated the provision of the Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China that “where a patent right has not been granted, no false claim of having been granted a patent right may be made in an advertisement.” The market supervision and administration department ordered the cessation of the advertisement and imposed a fine of 30,000 yuan on the advertiser.
 
 
The [1] The People's Republic of China Advertising Law
Article 12
[1] If an advertisement involves a patented product or method, the patent number and type shall be indicated.
[2] If a patent has not been obtained, it shall not be falsely claimed in an advertisement.
[3] The use of patent applications that have not been granted patents, as well as patents that have been terminated, revoked, or invalidated, in advertisements is prohibited.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
Sam's has been thrust into the spotlight more than once. As the saying goes, a tall tree catches the wind. As a major supermarket, not only is its food quality constantly under scrutiny, but its product pricing and intellectual property are also closely watched. This time, Sam's violated the aforementioned provisions of the Advertising Law by falsely claiming that products without patent rights had obtained patent rights. This shows that the “substantive examination effective” status of a patent does not mean that the patent right has already been granted, so extra caution is needed in advertising.