In November 2025, a banner embroidered with "Leveraging Legal Expertise to Resolve Complex Challenges; Securing Victory through IntellectualProwess" along with a heartfelt letter of appreciation, were specially delivered to NTD IP Attorneys. This came from a leading wireless data transmission radio enterprise, expressing deep gratitude and recognition for NTD. Behind these tokens lies a challenging trademark defense battle that lasted over a year and ultimately triumphed against significant odds.
On October 27, 2025, the Beijing High People's Court issued the final judgment (2025) Jing Xing Zhong No. 4396, overturning the first-instance administrative judgment of the Beijing Intellectual Property Court and the related review decision made by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). The court ordered the CNIPA to issue a new decision regarding the No. 3695968 "LANCOM and Device" trademark. This ruling marks a complete reversal for RAINBOW ELECTRONICS CO.,LTD. ("RAINBOW ELECTRONICS ") in the trademark cancellation case based on "non-use for three consecutive years," successfully preserving its core trademark registered for all designated goods in Class 9, including "modems, computer software, network communication equipment".
I. Core Trademark Faces "Three-Year Non-Use" Crisis, Initial Lawsuit Lost
The "LANCOM and Device" trademark has been the core brand identifier of RAINBOW ELECTRONICS since its application in 2003. Over more than two decades, this trademark has accompanied RAINBOW ELECTRONICS's growth from a local enterprise into a leading domestic supplier in the 230MHz frequency band wireless data transmission radio field. The market value and brand equity it carries have long become strategic assets crucial to the company's operations and development.
In 2023, a company from Chongqing filed a cancellation request against the "LANCOM and Device" trademark on the grounds of "non-use for three consecutive years". The CNIPA initially cancelled the registration for some goods, including "remote control instruments, industrial operation remote control electrical equipment". After the Chongqing company requested a review, the CNIPA issued a decision to cancel the trademark for all reviewed goods.
During the first instance, RAINBOW ELECTRONICS submitted evidence including company and product promotional brochures, product operation manuals, 34 sets of product sales contracts with corresponding invoices, distributor purchase statements, product warranty cards, and work orders. However, the first-instance court held that the sales contracts and invoices did not display the disputed trademark, and evidence such as work orders, warranty cards, and product photos showing the trademark were self-made unilateral documents with weak probative value, failing to form a complete chain of evidence. Consequently, the court upheld the cancellation decision. To protect its core brand, RAINBOW ELECTRONICS entrusted NTD to file an appeal.
II. Building a Dual-Dimensional Evidence Chain, Overcoming Key Challenges in the Second Instance
After accepting the mandate, the NTD team quickly identified the case's critical issues and developed a strategy focused on "Evidence Reinforcement" and "Product Characterization," ultimately leading to the case's reversal.
A. Evidence Reinforcement
1. Strengthening the "Circulation Chain" Evidence: Tracking Products to End-Users
As industrial-grade products, data transmission radios are not sold directly to individual consumers but typically through distributors or agents to end clients, often requiring parameter customization based on end-user needs, resulting in fewer sales documents directly displaying the trademark. Addressing this characteristic, the NTD team undertook a crucial step: traveling to end-product installation sites in locations like Fujian, Zhongshan, Hangzhou, and Suzhou. They verified and notarized "LANCOM & Device" data transmission radios installed and operating at hydraulic gate stations, bearing unique serial numbers. By tracing product flow through these serial numbers, they connected work orders, warranty cards, contracts, sales invoices, and end-users, visualizing the entire chain from production and sales to delivery and use, proving that products bearing the disputed trademark were publicly sold and actually used during the specified period.
2. Supplementing with Multiple Types of Corroborating Evidence
Furthermore, RAINBOW ELECTRONICS extended the evidence chain to multiple stages — "production-promotion-transaction", supplementing various types of corroborating evidence to further demonstrate the genuine use of the disputed trademark:
(1) Production Stage: Submitted label printing contracts with printers, value-added tax invoices, and finished label samples, proving the practical application of the disputed trademark in the product packaging production stage.
(2) Promotion Stage: Notarized website promotion pages and product introduction pages, with timelines locked within the specified period, clearly showing the continuous use of the disputed trademark in public commercial promotions.
(3) Sales Stage: Provided sample machine application forms stamped and signed by customers bearing the disputed trademark, and online transaction records, clearly demonstrating that RAINBOW ELECTRONICS provided product materials and images bearing the disputed trademark to customers via online platforms (WeChat and QQ) and concluded numerous sales of products bearing the disputed trademark, fully restoring the usage context of the disputed trademark in actual commercial communication and product transactions.
B. Product Characterization
The term "data transmission radio" is not a standardized name in the "Similar Goods and Services Classification Table". It was necessary to clarify its correspondence with "modems" in the second instance. The NTD team structured their argument across three dimensions:
1. Citing National Standards: Based on the "General Specification for Data Transmission Radios", argued that data transmission radios are essentially "wireless modems", sharing the core attributes of the approved goods.
2. Referencing Technical Documents: Submitted multiple industry technical documents and RAINBOW ELECTRONICS's product manuals, proving that data transmission radios achieve wireless data transmission through "modulation-demodulation" technology, fully matching the function and principle of "modems".
3. Leveraging Official Statements: Cited the CNIPA's statement during the second-instance inquiry, confirming that "data transmission radios fall under the sub-concept of modems," further solidifying the argument.
Ultimately, the reinforced evidence and logical arguments presented during the second instance proceedings were fully accepted by the collegiate panel of the Beijing High Court.
III. Significance of the Judgment
A. Establishing the "Sub-Concept Goods" Rule, Providing a New Path for Enterprise Rights Protection
The Beijing High Court's judgment in this case established a key adjudication rule for trademark cancellation cases based on "non-use for three consecutive years": "If the actually used goods belong to a sub-concept of the approved goods, or are closely related in function, purpose, etc., and in the absence of evidence to the contrary, such use can be deemed as use on the approved goods." This rule not only provides a clear precedent for future similar cases but also resolves the difficulty high-tech enterprises face in proving trademark use due to product iteration and name updates, offering a clear path for the long-term protection of core brands.
B. Clarifying the "Chained Evidence" Standard, Constructing a New Approach to Evidence in "Non-Use" Cases
The judgment also reinforced the critical role of a "closed-loop evidence chain" in trademark "non-use" cancellation cases, providing clear guidance for enterprises submitting evidence. It clarified that internal documents (e.g., production orders, work orders) are not "inherently invalid", but their probative value needs corroboration through external evidence—only by forming a complete evidence chain of "production-sales-circulation-use" with evidence like end-user manuals, product installation records, and on-site notarization materials can the genuine commercial use of a trademark be effectively proven. This clarification on evidence rules shifts the focus from the previous misconception of emphasizing "quantity of documents over chain integrity", providing actionable guidance for enterprises across different industries, especially in industrial product and customized product sectors, when dealing with "non-use" disputes.
In RAINBOW ELECTRONICS's trademark defense battle, which lasted over a year, the NTD team, leveraging their precise control of legal rules and evidence logic, innovated evidence strategies and deepened legal arguments. Ultimately, the team not only achieved a complete victory for RAINBOW ELECTRONICS but also successfully safeguarded its core brand assets accumulated over 20 years, strengthening the intellectual property defense for the company's future development. The exceptional professional competence, meticulous service attitude, and determined perseverance demonstrated by the two attorneys earned high praise from the client, further attesting to NTD' professional service strength.
Following the successful appeal, leaders from RAINBOW ELECTRONICS personally visited NTD to present the banner and letter of appreciation, commending the two attorneys for their outstanding performance in turning the case around. NTD Managing Partner Wei JIAN, Senior Partners Christopher SHEN, Lisa DONG, and the lead attorneys Iris WANG and Qing SUN attended the presentation ceremony.
This case was handled by Attorney Wang Yi and Attorney Sun Qing of NTD IP Attorneys.
Iris Wang joined NTD in 2008 and started her profession in intellectual property, mainly focusing on the area of trademark, copyright, unfair competition and trade secret. During more than 10 years of her work with NTD, Iris assisted many famous enterprises at home and abroad in dealing with different intellectual property legal affairs including civil and administrative litigation related to trademark, anti-unfair competition, and copyright, intellectual property and commercial contracts review，intellectual property strategy consultation, corporate compliance governance, trademark assignment negotiation, copyright registration，administrative raid action and customs protection. In the process of providing legal services to the clients, Iris has accumulated a wealth of experience, and her good professional knowledge and meticulous services enable her to gain recognition from the clients.
Qing SUN
Qing SUN joined NTD in 2010, embarking on her career in intellectual property law with a practice spanning trademarks, copyright, anti-unfair competition, and trade secrets. During her over ten years at NTD, she has assisted numerous renowned domestic and international enterprises in handling a wide range of IP legal matters. These include criminal cases related to trademarks, copyright, and anti-unfair competition; administrative enforcement actions; corporate background investigations; customs protection; trademark assignment and negotiation; enforcement strategy advisory; enterprise IP health checks; and litigation. Through her dedicated service to clients, she has accumulated extensive practical experience, and her solid professional expertise and meticulous approach have earned her consistent recognition from a wide range of clients.
