Muji ordered to pay Chinese firm US$89,000 and apologise after losing trademark appeal
- Supreme People’s Court in Beijing upholds 2017 ruling that retailer infringed on Beijing Cottonfield Textile Corp’s intellectual property rights over use of ‘Wuyinliangpin’ brand name
- Japanese firm argued it held rights to the Chinese name for ‘almost all’ of its goods, with the only exceptions being bed covers and towels
Japanese retailer Muji has been ordered to pay 626,000 yuan (US$89,000) and issue a public apology to a Chinese company after losing its appeal against an earlier court ruling on a trademark infringement.
At a hearing last month, the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing upheld a 2017 ruling in favour of Natural Mill, whose parent company Beijing Cottonfield Textile Corp owns a trademarked name used by Muji.
When Muji entered the mainland China market in 2005, it registered its international brand name “MUJI” – in block letters – and took out a local trademark – represented by four Chinese characters spelling out “Wuyinliangpin”, or “no brand, quality goods” – to cover most, but not all, of its goods.
However, Chinese company Hainan Nanhua had registered the Wuyinliangpin trademark for certain woven fabric products, including bed covers and towels, in 2001. It later transferred the rights to the name to Beijing Cottonfield Textile Corp.