The Japanese brand clothing “MUJI” originally aimed at launching good home products without focusing on the brand identity, but the absence of an obvious brand identity will also bring new troubles. According to the news today on November 4, the Tianyan Check App shows that recently, Beijing Miantian Textile Co., Ltd. (Beijing “MUJI”), MUJI (Shanghai) Commercial Co., Ltd., and the company’s Good Products Project (Japan “MUJI”) and other related commercial defamation disputes were announced.
This is a Japanese MUJI product
The document shows that the plaintiff, Miantian Company, alleged that the second defendant, including Liangpin Project Co., Ltd., fabricated and disseminated false information about Miantian Company’s “squatting” of its “MUJI” trademark, which caused the relevant public to misidentify Miantian Company’s “MUJI” trademark. Commodities such as towels and quilts are counterfeit goods, causing losses to the Cotton Field Company, and their behavior constitutes commercial slander.
The court found that the public statements issued by the two defendants, including the Co., Ltd. Liangpin Project, objectively contained statements that violated the facts, thereby actually detracting from the goodwill of Miantian Company.
The plaintiff’s claim that the defendant constituted a commercial slander had a factual and legal basis. The final verdict was that the defendant Liangpin Project Co., Ltd. and MUJI (Shanghai) Commercial Co., Ltd. jointly compensated the plaintiff Beijing Miantian Textile Co., Ltd. for economic losses and a total of 400,000 yuan for stopping infringement expenses.
On April 26 this year, the case of “Beijing Cotton Field Textile Co., Ltd. v. MUJI Commercial Defamation of Unfair Competition” was heard at the Beijing Chaoyang Court online this morning.
Beijing Miantian Company alleged that on November 10, 2019, the defendant No.1 Co., Ltd. Liangpin Project and the defendant No.2 MUJI Co., Ltd. issued a statement stating that in mainland China, the “MUJI” trademark was used in cloth, towels, and bedspreads. Some other companies have been preemptively registering in some commodity categories.
However, in 2014 and 2015, Liangpin Project Co., Ltd. and MUJI Co., Ltd. misused the “MUJI” trademark in these categories of goods.
In response, the Beijing Higher People’s Court determined that the use of the “MUJI” trademark on individually designed blankets by Liangpin Project Co., Ltd. and MUJI Company violated the trademark rights of Beijing Miantian Textile Co., Ltd. The case was not pronounced in court.
