Photo: BMW
A pair of Chinese firms have been commanded to pay BMW the equivalent of $432,000 because they inappropriately used its logo.
The companies first applied for a trademark for “BMN,” which used a logo that was similar to the one employed by BMW. The said filing was made by Deguo Baoma Group Holdings Limited, which translates as “German BMW Group Holdings Limited,” as Shanghai Daily notes.
They filed for the trademark in July, 2008, and then allowed a local company named Chuangjia to use their logo on the apparel it manufactured and sold.
The said logo was repeatedly modified over the years, and it eventually became even more similar to the original BMW logo. Chuangjia made clothes, shoes, and bags that had that logo, which was also promoted through franchises within the BMN trademark.
As you can imagine, BMW’s legal team found out about it, and they began an action against the Chinese companies. The case was closed this week by the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court.
The fine of three million yuan is small if you ask us, because the companies might have obtained revenues larger than the $432,000 sum. Regardless, the court’s decision should stop the two companies from this practice, and others should learn from their actions.
Many western companies have experienced problems with intellectual property and trademarks because of blatant knock-offs made in China. The said products are inferior in quality to the original designs, and all those “clones” are done without the knowledge or approval of the company that trademarked the respective names and logos.
The best way to stop this as a consumer is never to buy knock-off products of any kind. From a pair of counterfeit sneakers to incredibly cheap car parts, all of these items are made without any care for quality, the environment, or consumer safety.
This even applies to those cheap chargers for smartphones, which could light your phone on fire because they have no internal regulators for electrical power.
They filed for the trademark in July, 2008, and then allowed a local company named Chuangjia to use their logo on the apparel it manufactured and sold.
The said logo was repeatedly modified over the years, and it eventually became even more similar to the original BMW logo. Chuangjia made clothes, shoes, and bags that had that logo, which was also promoted through franchises within the BMN trademark.
As you can imagine, BMW’s legal team found out about it, and they began an action against the Chinese companies. The case was closed this week by the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court.
The fine of three million yuan is small if you ask us, because the companies might have obtained revenues larger than the $432,000 sum. Regardless, the court’s decision should stop the two companies from this practice, and others should learn from their actions.
Many western companies have experienced problems with intellectual property and trademarks because of blatant knock-offs made in China. The said products are inferior in quality to the original designs, and all those “clones” are done without the knowledge or approval of the company that trademarked the respective names and logos.
The best way to stop this as a consumer is never to buy knock-off products of any kind. From a pair of counterfeit sneakers to incredibly cheap car parts, all of these items are made without any care for quality, the environment, or consumer safety.
This even applies to those cheap chargers for smartphones, which could light your phone on fire because they have no internal regulators for electrical power.
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