The Beijing High People's Court ordered a Beijing department store to compensate luxury luggage, briefcase and accessories producer Alfred Dunhill in a trademark infringement case.

The IPR Tribunal of the court ordered Beijing Wangshi Baili Commercial Company to pay 50,000 yuan (US$6,200) to Alfred Dunhill in a case that is listed as one of the top 10 cases on intellectual property rights (IPR) in the city.

Alfred Dunhill registered its trademark on luggage and briefcases in 1995 and acquired monopoly rights on accessory products two years later.

The company learnt in 2004 that a department store operated by Wangshi Baili sold wallets, ties and belts bearing the Dunhill trademark.

The court, citing the Trademark Law, ruled that nobody may use Dunhill's or any similar trademark on such commodities.

Another of the top 10 IPR cases in Beijing involved the infringement of another well-known garment trademark, Montagut, in 2005. Two Guangzhou-based companies were ordered to pay compensation of 350,000 yuan (US$43,000) to the French firm Bonneterie Cevenole SARL for trademark infringement over the name Montagut.

The judgment, made by the Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court, was at least the third time domestic courts have safeguarded the famous fashion brand name.

Another top 10 IPC case last year determined that the Beijing-based New Oriental Education Group was guilty of a copyright violation regarding exam papers for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) developed by the US-based Educational Testing Service (ETS). New Oriental, a leading private English-training institution, was ordered by the Beijing High People's Court to pay ETS 3.7 million yuan (US$456,000).

According to statistics, IPR cases received by the Beijing-based court in 2005 increased by nearly 50 per cent over the number in 2004.

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