The trademark at issue in this case is the "Yuhua Stone" trademark owned by Newbeika International Logistics (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. Originally applied for by Nanjing Chaoshidai Culture Communication Co., Ltd. in 2008, the trademark was registered in Class 34 in 2010 and transferred to Newbeika Company in 2019. Jiangsu China Tobacco Industrial Co., Ltd. filed a request for invalidation of this trademark. In 2022, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) ruled to uphold the registration. China Tobacco appealed, and both the first and second instance courts ruled to revoke the CNIPA's decision. Newbeika Co., Ltd. contested this outcome and applied for a retrial.

In its retrial ruling, the Supreme People's Court explicitly identified multiple improper actions by the original applicant, Chaoshidai Company. First, beyond the similarity between the disputed trademark and China Tobacco's prior-registered and used "Yuhua Stone" trademark, Chaoshidai Company also applied for trademarks such as 'Guangyao' and "TechArt" in multiple categories of goods and services—trademarks identical or similar to well-known brands owned by others. Furthermore, former shareholders of Chaoshidai Company had publicly admitted to trademark squatting, and the disputed trademark remained unused for three consecutive years—evidence demonstrating the company's lack of genuine intent to use the mark. Although the trademark was subsequently transferred, Newbeika Company, as the assignee, should bear the legal consequences arising from the improper registration of the disputed trademark. Ultimately, the Supreme People's Court ruled that Chaoshidai's application constituted "obtaining registration by other improper means" under the 2001 Trademark Law, upholding the original judgment. The CNIPA's decision to maintain the registration was revoked.

Source:
WeChat public account of IPHouse: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/2_TjhCiKsqCjdmIku w4L7w (Chinese)