Geely Auto, which was involved in a trademark dispute against Toyota two years ago, filed a lawsuit in September against a company in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, over a disputed trademark. Geely sued Kunming Yajieli Trading Co Ltd because its products, men's shirts, bear the "Gili" brand. The word means happiness and luck in Chinese, and it is pronounced the same as Geely.

The clothing company has marketed its shirts with an advertising slogan connecting them to Geely Auto: "Drive Geely cars, wearing Gili shirts and step onto the gili road."

Geely sued Yajieli Trading Co in the local court in Kunming after being informed in 2004 that the manufacturer was selling the shirts. The court session opened this September.

Geely recently participated in a car show in Frankfurt, Germany, where it became the first Chinese auto brand to compete internationally. The company is also now showing an increasing awareness of the importance of intellectual property protection. It claimed in its suit that the shirt advertisement "creates confusion among consumers, and takes advantage of Geely Auto's established brand."

Geely has claimed ownership of the "Geely" brand through ownership transfer since 1998. It is confident that it has built a brand "representing China's domestic auto industry through high quality management systems and nationwide distribution channels."

Geely Auto has asked for 100,000 yuan (US$12,048), in addition to a public statement from Kunming Yajieli Trading Co clearing up confusion between Geely Auto and the shirt.

Yajieli Trading Co argues that their shirts are different and believe that their conduct did not violate Geely's copyright. They did, however, admit that their marketing slogan was inappropriate and was willing to accept part of the fine.

The suit shows that Geely has expanded its intellectual property protection beyond the auto industry. Geely also asked the court to recognize Geely as a "nationally known trademark." Further details on the lawsuit are not yet available.

Japan-based Toyota filed a lawsuit against Geely Auto two years ago because it believed Geely had intentionally imitated Toyota's trademark. Toyota sued Geely for violating its trademark by using deceptive language in their marketing slogan. The Japanese manufacturer demanded more than 14 million yuan (US$1,686,747), but lost without appealing to the higher court.

China Business Weekly News

(China Daily 10/17/2005 page9)