A cosmetics brand Shiseido Liyuan Cosmetics Company's challenge to the trademark 欧珀莱 filed by a person named Fang Yuyou in March 2004 failed in the first-instance judgment by the court and the trademark in question was eventually approved registration. Disgruntled Shiseido then brought the case to Beijing High People's Court and the court took the case recently.

In 1993, Shiseido Liyuan filed 欧珀莱 AUPRES and its figure as trademarks on Class 3 and other classes. The No. 3950767 欧珀莱 trademark in question was filed for registration to the Trademark Office

(TMO) under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce by Fang Yuyou in March 2004, which was used on Class 35 services of word processing in fields of advertising and business management. Shiseido Liyuan then challenged the mark and put forward objection during the suspension period, but later was rejected. Disgruntled Shiseido Liyuan then filed an administrative suit.

Shiseido Liyuan held that as the Chinese translation of AUPRES, 欧珀莱 is of a true original. Despite the trademark in question was authorized on different classes with their registered marks, 欧珀莱 and AUPRES have gained popularity among the consumers and should be regarded as the well-known trademark. The mark in question has caused damage to the brand image. Besides, the trademark in question would also harm the benefits of Shiseido Liyuan.

The court held that although 欧珀莱 and AUPRES enjoy good reputation, they are not well-known marks. In parallel, the differences between writing processing services and cosmetics are obvious in function and use, so the registration is allowed.

The third party Fang Yuyou didn't show up from the beginning. 

We will follow the development of the case.

(by Yang Liu)

(Source: CHINA REPORT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY)