Burberry v Baneberry

The world-renowned British fashion chain Burberry has recently secured a rarely granted injunction in China restraining a competitor from using similar trade marks to its brand.

Background

The case was brought by Burberry against Xinboli Trading, a company based in Shanghai with over 40 physical stores across China who had also successfully secured trade mark registrations for the name “Baneberry”. In addition to the similar names, Burberry also alleged that Xinboli was marketing clothes for sale under the Baneberry brand that were designed in a very similar fashion to those of Burberry’s.

Burberry was one of the first Western brands to establish a presence in China and is well known to Chinese consumers and so the company was successfully able to apply for an interim injunction (that is one that is granted before a full trial), stopping Xinboli from continuing to sell its goods, pending outcome of the main trial. Whilst such injunctions are relatively common once a case has been decided, a preliminary injunction of this nature is still relatively rare in China.

Briffa comment

This case goes to show that rights holders should not be scared of enforcing their rights overseas; jurisdictions such as China have come a long way in a relatively short period of time in implementing new IP laws with a range of remedies. Here at Briffa, the team benefits from over 25 years’ experience assisting with copyright and design claims in nearly every jurisdiction in the world and we are able to assist in all aspects of the process from initial filing to enforcement. If you need any further information in this regard please do feel free to get in touch with us via info@briffa.com.

Written by Tom Synott, Associate