Docket No.:  66480, first instance (初), civil case (民), (2017) Pudong New District People's Court of Shanghai Municipality (沪0115)

STATEMENT OF THE CASE AND FACTS

AMERICAN “LEVIS” BRAND JEANS AND CLOTHING OPERATOR,

Plaintiff

v.

COMPANY B,

COMPANY C,

Defendants

The Plaintiff, Company A, is an American "Levis" brand jeans and clothing operator which has registered series of trademarks in China, including “” Registered Trademark No. 2023725, in respect of clothing, belts, wallets and other goods. The Plaintiff claimed that as the Defendant I, Company B, used the trademark in dispute on the jeans produced by it without authorization and the Defendant II, Company C, sold them online, they infringed the Plaintiff's exclusive right to use registered trademark. So the Plaintiff sued to the court, requesting to order the two Defendants to stop the infringement and compensate for the economic losses and the reasonable expenses incurred in right protection in total of RMB 200,000.

In the trial of this case, upon consensus of the Parties, the court allocated this case to be mediated by World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service ("WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service"). Pudong Court established a special docking work team to learn and pre-judge the possible legal application problems and possible processes linking obstacles in entrusted mediation of foreign-related IP case under applicable laws of China and dispute resolution rules of WIPO Center for Arbitration and Mediation and formulate corresponding working mechanisms and disposal plans, so as to ensure that docking work is carried out according to laws and regulations. According to the demand of the Parties, WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service was coordinated to select expert mediators with professional knowledge background and rich practical experience to preside over the case mediation, assist the mediators to better grasp the key processes in mediation of foreign-related IP case, analyze the legal relationship involved, bridge the gap between Chinese and foreign parties, and meet the demand of Chinese and foreign market players to simplify the right remediation and to diversify dispute resolution methods. Finally, the Parties reached a settlement. The two Defendants paid RMB 100,000 to the Plaintiff, and this case was successfully resolved.

ANALYSIS

This case is China's first foreign-related IP dispute case in which an overseas dispute resolution institution participates and which is successfully settled through the mediation under the cooperation between Pudong Court and WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service. Pudong Court and WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service have carried out in-depth cooperation on dispute resolution of foreign-related IP case, fully explained the contents of entrusted mediation work to Chinese and foreign parties in the mediation process, and established a good communication channel among the Parties and the international mediation organization, thus securing the effect of resolving the foreign-related IP dispute.