Italian Huarun and Run Paints Suspected of Infringing on Huarun Paint Trademark Rights Have Been Investigated
Recently, in accordance with the requirements of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to combat "name-hijacking," the Nanchang City Administration for Industry and Commerce of Jiangxi Province conducted surprise inspections on "name-hijacking" products in the city's paint industry. More than 200 sets of various "name-hijacking" paint products were seized. Multiple paint brands, including "Run Paint," "Italian Huarun," "Huarun Ai Jia Mei," and "Colorful Huarun," were investigated for suspected infringement of the trademark rights of Guangdong Huarun Coatings Ltd.'s "Huarun Paint."
This special operation was carried out by the Nanchang City Administration for Industry and Commerce in preparation for "3?15" to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and law-abiding enterprises. It involved quality and safety inspections of products related to the health and well-being of the people. During the special operation from March 3 to March 7, the Nanchang City Administration for Industry and Commerce mainly conducted surprise inspections at two of the largest paint markets in the jurisdiction - the Jiangxi Building Materials Market and the Xiangjiang Building Materials Market. At the scene, the industrial and commercial enforcement officers discovered a paint called "Italian Huarun," which was very similar to the "China Famous Brand Product" winning "Huarun Paint" in terms of name, packaging, and trademark. The enforcement officers legally confiscated these paints suspected of trademark infringement and initiated an investigation. At the scene, the enforcement officers also discovered more than 250 sets of similar suspected infringing brands such as "Run Paint," "Colorful Huarun," and "Huarun Ai Jia Mei."
To ensure that this action was thorough and effective, based on reports, Deputy Director Mao Zhenxiang of the Fair Trade Division of the Jiangxi Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce personally led a team to conduct a surprise inspection of a paint production enterprise located in the Jinchao Economic Development Zone of Fuzhou City. The packaging of the "Huarun Ai Jia Mei" paint produced by this enterprise indicated that the manufacturer was the Yinhai Huarun Coatings Company Limited of Jiangmen, Guangdong, raising significant suspicion of misleading and defrauding consumers. After careful planning, the industrial and commercial departments successfully dismantled this production den. A large number of product packaging boxes and cans of "Huarun Ai Jia Mei" have been seized at the scene.
Director Li Junwei of the Fair Trade Division of the Nanchang City Administration for Industry and Commerce stated that the prominent use of the word "Huarun" on the packaging of this paint product could easily cause confusion with the well-known brand "Huarun Paint" regarding the source of the product,涉嫌 infringing upon the exclusive right to use the registered trademark "Huarun" held by Guangdong Huarun Coatings Ltd.
"Huarun Paint" is a registered trademark of Guangdong Huarun Coatings Ltd. The "Huarun Paint" series of products have successively been rated as "National Exempted Products" and "China Famous Brand Products" by the National Quality Supervision Bureau. Two years ago, it was judicially recognized as a "China Well-Known Trademark." Registering well-known trademarks in the industry as their own company names to confuse company names with brand names, attempting to make consumers mistakenly believe that their products are associated with famous brands, thereby expanding sales and making profits, this phenomenon is known within the industry as "name-hijacking." In recent years, the "name-hijacking" phenomenon in the paint industry has become increasingly rampant. Some use the names or partial keywords of famous enterprises as the names of their own products, while others register the trademarks of well-known enterprises as their own business names overseas or preemptively register them, leaving many consumers unable to distinguish between them.
Mr. Fang Xin, Legal Director of the Huarun Coatings Group, told reporters that the reason "Huarun Paint" has now become a leading brand in the coatings industry is due to our long-standing commitment to putting quality and credibility first. As a result, it has become an object of imitation and counterfeiting by some illegal enterprises. These small enterprises, whether in terms of technology, equipment, or product quality, cannot be compared with "Huarun Paint." However, in order to open up the market, they sell under the guise of "Huarun Paint," deceiving consumers. This not only harms the interests of consumers but also severely damages the economic interests and corporate image of Huarun Coatings. If such illegal behavior is not severely punished, it will harm the healthy development of well-known enterprises and even the healthy development of the entire national economy. Therefore, Huarun Coatings will work with law enforcement agencies to continuously and effectively combat such actions.
According to information obtained from the Jiangxi Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce, this special rectification campaign targeting the paint industry has already been launched in various cities and districts across the province. Investigations into acts of infringement are underway, and if these brands' "name-hijacking" unfair competition behaviors are confirmed, they will face severe penalties under relevant legal provisions such as the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, the Trademark Law, and the Enterprise Name Registration Management Regulations to maintain the healthy development of the market.
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