"Xiaoyao Town" and "Tongguan Roujiamo" have no right to charge franchise fees! Officially clarified

In the early morning of November 26, the State Intellectual Property Office answered reporters' questions about the trademark dispute between "Xiaoyao Town" and "Tongguan Roujiamo". The State Intellectual Property Office pointed out that, from a legal perspective, "Xiaoyao Town" is a common trademark, and its registrant cannot charge so-called "membership fees" based on it. "Tongguan Roujiamo" is a geographical indication registered as a collective trademark, and its registrant has no right to license the use of the geographical indication collective trademark to merchants outside the specific area of ​​Tongguan and charge franchise fees. At the same time, it has no right to prohibit merchants in the specific area of ​​Tongguan from legitimately using the place name in the geographical indication collective trademark.

Snack shop used "Tongguan Roujiamo" as its sign and was sued

If you want to use it, you need to pay 99,800 yuan

Recently, "Tongguan Roujiamo" has triggered a trademark dispute. In Luoyang, Henan, dozens of snack shops said that they were sued by the Shaanxi Tongguan Roujiamo Association just because the word "Tongguan" was placed before the Roujiamo on their signs. At present, the association has sued many shops across the country that use this trademark.

According to the reporter, dozens of businesses in Luoyang alone have received subpoenas for alleged infringement of the use of "Tongguan Roujiamo", demanding compensation ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 yuan, and were told that if they still want to continue using the trademark, they will need to pay 99,800 yuan.

Faced with the sudden subpoena, the merchants said that they had neither the time nor the energy to deal with the next step of the lawsuit, so they chose to settle. The Shaanxi Tongguan Roujiamo Association said that the rights protection is to hope that the store will join the association and pay an annual membership fee of 2,400 yuan.

Faced with this passive situation of paying money to settle the matter, merchants also questioned why the association only started the rights protection action today when it clearly obtained the ownership of the trademark in 2015? What is the purpose?

Tongguan Roujiamo Association staff: We only started to entrust a Beijing law firm to do national trademark protection in December last year. What we want is for all Tongguan Roujiamo makers to gather together. We are not forcing compensation, but we hope that all of them can join the association and jointly develop this brand. The association has to pay membership fees of 2,400 yuan a year, or 200 yuan a month.

Xihua, Henan: Xiaoyao Town Hu La Tang Association

“Trademark protection” was suspended

In fact, it is not just Tongguan Roujiamo that is involved in trademark disputes. Recently, many Hu La Tang merchants in Xiaoyao Town, Jiaozuo City, Henan Province have received court summonses, being informed that the words "Xiaoyao Town" they used were suspected of infringing the copyright. Once the incident was exposed, it attracted the attention of netizens. On November 21, the Xihua County Hu La Tang Industry Development Center issued a statement, saying that it had ordered the suspension of trademark protection work and organized relevant personnel to conduct an investigation.

So, what was the purpose of the Xiaoyao Town Hu La Tang Association in defending its rights?

Gao Peng, Vice President of the Hu La Tang Association of Xiaoyao Town, Xihua County, Henan Province: Because the trademark of Xiaoyao Town was indeed registered with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce as early as 2003, and because we were mainly laissez-faire in the early development, allowing everyone to use this name. But starting this year, our association has joined hands with a third-party intellectual property company to protect our rights. The main purpose is to bring merchants using the Xiaoyao Town trademark under the name of our association through rights protection, and to standardize everyone's business through the association's unified operation and standardized production.

About "Xiaoyao Town" and "Tongguan Roujiamo"

Trademark Dispute Answers to Journalists' Questions

A reporter asked:

What is the status of the trademark registration of "Xiaoyao Town" and "Tongguan Roujiamo"? How do you view the trademark dispute of "Xiaoyao Town" and "Tongguan Roujiamo"?

answer:

After investigation, it was found that up to now, the Xiaoyao Town Hu La Tang Association has effectively registered three "Xiaoyao Town" trademarks, namely No. 3436143 "Xiaoyao Town" registered by the former State Administration for Industry and Commerce Trademark Office on June 21, 2004, No. 3436141 "Xiaoyao Town" registered on February 28, 2008, and No. 4664367 "Xiaoyao Town and Picture" registered on April 7, 2009, which are approved for use in Class 29 "Hu La Tang" products or Class 43 "Catering Services", and are all ordinary trademarks. Among them, No. 3436141 and No. 3436143 "Xiaoyao Town" trademarks were initially registered by individuals, and then the Xiaoyao Town Hu La Tang Association obtained the exclusive right to the trademark through trademark transfer.

"Tongguan Roujiamo" is a geographical indication registered as a collective trademark, and its registration is based on the Trademark Law, the Regulations for the Implementation of the Trademark Law, and the Measures for the Registration and Administration of Collective Trademarks and Certification Trademarks. Upon investigation, it was found that the Trademark Office of the former State Administration for Industry and Commerce approved the registration of the "Tongguan Roujiamo" graphic and text trademark No. 14369120 on December 14, 2015, and approved it for use on "Roujiamo" products in Class 30. The original trademark registrant was the Old Tongguan Snacks Association, and on January 27, 2021, the announcement approved the change of the trademark registrant to the Tongguan Roujiamo Association.

Legally, "Xiaoyao Town" is a common trademark, and its registrant cannot charge so-called "membership fees" based on it. "Tongguan Roujiamo" is a geographical indication registered as a collective trademark, and its registrant has no right to allow merchants outside the specific area of ​​Tongguan to use the geographical indication collective trademark and charge franchise fees. At the same time, it has no right to prohibit merchants in the specific area of ​​Tongguan from legitimately using the place name in the geographical indication collective trademark.

At present, the National Intellectual Property Administration has instructed relevant local departments to have an in-depth understanding of the progress of the incident, strengthen administrative guidance on the protection and use of trademarks by all parties, actively carry out related work, and handle relevant trademark disputes in accordance with laws and regulations. It is necessary to protect intellectual property rights in accordance with the law, prevent the abuse of intellectual property rights, and properly handle the interest relationship between trademark rights holders, market entities and the general public.

Editor-in-charge｜Zhai Qiaohong Editor｜Jiang Yue

Source: CCTV Finance, Shang Mingzhen of People's Daily Online-Henan Channel, National Intellectual Property Administration ID: NIPAPRC