G2000 v. 2000: Do Fear the Domino Effect

In my previous post, I indicated that G2000 has a much bigger problem ahead. Here is why.

Only one issue might be on appeal at the Zhejiang Higher People’s Court --the 20 million Yuan in damages for Plaintiff. No matter how the Court decides, Defendant G2000 will desperately want another bite at the apple regarding the validity of Plaintiff’s “2000 ” mark, but that is just a fanciful wish. In Chinese trademark litigations, as well as other civil trials, parties only get one appeal, which already occurred at the Beijing Higher People’s Court. Second, Beijing 1st Intermediate People’s Court and the Beijing Higher People’s Court have the exclusive jurisdiction on administrative trademark cases, which renders Defendant’s fanciful wish even more distant from reality. In short, Plaintiff’s “2000 ” mark is valid for the goods/services registered for, and that is written in the stone as of now, unless Plaintiff somehow forfeits it at a later date. But that is not the concern here.

So, what do all these mean to G2000, the big Hong Kong fashion company, the successful and expanding international franchisor?

IT IS ALL BAD NEWS for a number of reasons!

First, obviously, G2000 will be ordered to cease the use of the “G2000” mark on its ties, socks, belts, and scarves. Well, relatively speaking, this is no big deal since what franchisees can do to G2000 is a tremendous headache. Since trademark, in most cases, is the core of a franchise system, uncertainty in the trademark casts a very long shadow on the franchise system itself. If the G2000 mark violates the rights of another with respect to the types of goods complained of, G2000’s franchise system suffers a major loss in its family of trademarks, and that translates into a major loss in revenues.

Second, Chinese franchisees can sue G2000 for violating the Chinese franchise regulations. Pursuant to the Regulations on the Administration of Commercial Franchise, a franchisor must disclose to prospective franchisees the status of its intellectual property, and its disclosures must be complete, accurate, and truthful. See Arts. 22-23. If in the unfortunate event that G2000 did not disclaim or disclose the status of its litigations on the “G2000” mark, it could find itself in a heap of trouble with the Chinese franchise regulators (AICs, and the Ministry of Commerce). The administrative penalties for violation of these Regulations can be substantial. See id., Art. 24-29. What is worse, franchisees could sue G2000 for breach of contract, fraud, and repudiation of the contract because of the failure to disclose. See id.

Third, as part of the domino effect (if number 2, above, occurs), G2000’s entire franchise system in China will be in jeopardy. It will have to deal with possible lawsuits from its some 436 franchisees. In addition, the named co-defendants won’t want to share the blame for the joint and several liability in the original law suit. Furthermore, G2000’s image, no matter how bright and attractive, will have been tarnished not only among its consumers, but more importantly among prospective franchisees. Growth and expansion in China through franchising, the fastest growing method of product distribution in China, will suffer at the minimum a slow down.

As one can see, one big mistake, especially in a company’s overall IP strategies in China, could have far-reaching impact on its bottom line. In this age of globalization and commercialization, intellectual property, trademark in this case, is of utter importance. Without a comprehensive, proactive, and sound IP strategy, franchisors march into China at their own peril.