J’adore

Back in the day, trademark applications in bad faith used to be a common occurrence in China, but this amount seems to have declined by recent more stringent Chinese legislation.

Western brands stood for quality and status, and what could be easier than copying such established trademarks? Although it was very clear that the parties weren’t the rightful owners of the copied trademark, this still often happened.

The decline in applications for copies of western trademarks is also due to the growing popularity of Chinese brands in China. There has been a policy shift from ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China’ to add more value to Chinese products and services. This policy includes promoting investment in research and development, stimulating entrepreneurship, and improving intellectual property rights to protect innovation. Also, the quality of Chinese brands is no longer inferior to that of western brands, many of which having had their production in China for years already.

Chinese products, such as electric cars made by NIO and BYD, are increasingly often being exported, which has led to an enormous increase in the number of trademark applications being filed by Chinese companies in America and the European Union.

Does this mean that Chinese companies are no longer copying Western trademarks? Not per se. Some Chinese trademark owners still continue to file interesting trademark applications. Recently, the logo J’DOR was filed in the European Union for perfume. A blatant copy of Christian Dior’s J’adore logo. Did the Chinese applicant really believe that their trademark was sufficiently different to the iconic trademark, and that Christian Dior would not object?

Author: Arnaud Bos

Bio: Arnaud is trademark attorney and within Knijff responsible for the marketing & communication. Arnaud is specialist in the metaverse and music sectors and his client portfolio includes many upcoming and renowned bands. He keeps a close eye on the latest case law in the EU and will let you know when he sees remarkable applications.