Coexist or Contradict? That is Not a Question Any More

View: 1522     Date: 2017-05-11 10:16

In English, the highest peak in the world - Qomolangma in China is normally called as “Everest”. However, when EVEREST SOCIETE ANONYMS applied the No. 13977126“everest” in class 43, China Trademark Office cited No. 9305846 “珠穆朗玛ZHUMULANGMA” (the Chinese characters and pinyin of Qomolangma) to object their application.

EVEREST SOCIETE ANONYMS strongly wanted to occupy this trademark, and firmly went through all the legal remedies, including the review application, and the first and second instance before the court.

However, all the legal remedies were subject to a same conclusion: the disputed trademark “everest” has the same meaning as Qomolangma in Chinese. Once those trademarks are used in the same field, they would cause confusion among the related public. These two trademarks already constitute the situation of Article 30 of China Trademark Law. The disputed trademark was objected. 

The above case in fact touches upon a very important standard: whether the trademarks would cause confusion among the Chinese public.

Words that refer to the same thing but expressed in different languages, when used on the same or similar goods / services, are most likely to bring confusion to the relevant consumers. Therefore, regardless of "Everest", "Qomolangma" or "Sagarmatha", when they are used on the same or similar goods/services, they could not coexist with the prior Chinese trademark having the same meaning in China.

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