Southeby's wins trademark battle against Chinese copycats
Auction house Sotheby’s has won a lawsuit against three Hong Kong companies that allegedly copied its trademark, and plans to sue a related group of mainland copycats, its Asian regional chief executive said today.
London-based Sotheby’s is just one of many foreign companies struggling with Chinese trademark issues. A series of Chinese companies have adopted trademarks or product names similar to those of foreign companies, prompting legal battles.
In April, Sotheby’s sued three Hong Kong-registered companies that used the name “Su Fu Bi,” written with the same Chinese characters Sotheby’s uses to render its name in the language, according to court documents.
The three businesses – shell companies for a Chinese auction group also called “Su Fu Bi” – did not file a defence, and a Hong Kong court sided with Sotheby’s yesterday, Sotheby’s Asian regional chief executive Kevin Ching said.
Sotheby’s also plans to take legal action against the Chinese group, which Ching said has promoted itself as if it were related to Sotheby’s in a series of prominent Hong Kong newspaper advertisements since January.
The group is based in Sichuan province, and has registered numerous “Su Fu Bi” trademarks in mainland China since 2003, he said.
“They were using our copyrighted materials and brochures, and marketing them as if those were their business and auctions,” Ching said.
“That is totally calculated to mislead, which we cannot accept,” he said. “It damages our international reputation.”
One of the advertisements, placed last week, announced a coming sale of paintings the Chinese group claimed were carried into space aboard a Chinese spacecraft.
Sotheby’s has offices in Beijing and Shanghai, but it is only allowed to host exhibitions – not auctions – in either city, because Chinese law prevents foreign companies from holding them on the mainland. The Chinese territory of Hong Kong has a different legal system.
Ching said serious collectors would probably not be fooled by the copycat auctions, but first-time buyers may be misled by the counterfeit marketing.
