Research On Judicial Application Of Punitive Damages For Trademark Infringement

Under the background of my country attaching importance to innovation-driven development,strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights,and comprehensively establishing the punitive compensation system for intellectual property rights,the awareness of rights protection of trademark owners is increasing,and trademark litigation is increasing year by year.The expected compensation amount will combat the desire of trademark owners to protect their rights,and the infringement of trademark rights will become worse,which will be detrimental to the protection and development of intellectual property rights.In 2013,the Trademark Law introduced punitive damages.The amount of compensation is determined based on the actual loss,profit from infringement,and more than one time and less than three times the multiple of the trademark license fee.However,its application is not ideal,and it is used in judicial practice to determine the amount of damages.There are only a handful of cases of compensation,although the 2019 Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China(hereinafter referred to as the "Trademark Law")has changed the multiple of punitive damages to more than one time and less than five times,and the maximum limit of statutory damages has also been increased from 300 The RMB 10,000 was changed to RMB 5,000,000,but it did not fundamentally solve the problem of difficult judicial application.This paper adopts the parallel research method of case and similar cases,and sorts out the judgments of the punitive damages system that have cited the Trademark Law so far.Taking the representations presented by the data as the starting point,it analyzes the reasons for the problems in the application of trademark infringement damages through the characteristics of data statistics,analyzes the application of punitive damages in trademark infringement cases in my country,and proposes to improve my country’s trademark infringement damages.It is expected to help improve the quality of judicial trials,promote the effective implementation of punitive damages for trademark infringement,set a benchmark for the application of punitive damages in other fields of intellectual property,and give full play to intellectual property trials to stimulate innovation and creation,maintain fair competition,and promote cultural prosperity.important role.The first part,a theoretical overview of punitive damages.Punitive damages refer to the judgment that the defendant should pay more than the plaintiff’s damages in cases of serious torts.Applicable under statutory circumstances,but the amount of compensation is uncertain,and the determination of applicable requirements is vague.It has both punishment and prevention functions,compensation and incentive functions,and helps to achieve intellectual property protection.The second part,the judicial status of punitive damages in trademark infringement cases.In the case of Beijing Tongrentang Co.,Ltd.v.Liao Yaofan for infringement of trademark rights,the court could have applied punitive damages to make a judgment,but it was convenient to make punitive damages through statutory damages,so that punitive damages were shelved.From the point to the surface,and looking at the trademark infringement dispute cases since the effective date of the punitive damages clause for trademark infringement,the comprehensive analysis of the data shows that the trademark disputes have the following characteristics: although the application of punitive damages is on the rise,But the absolute number is relatively small;there are accidental factors in determining the calculation base of the amount of compensation in the case,and most cases lack such factors;the determination of the compensation coefficient lacks a unified standard,and the judge’s reasoning is unclear;Enthusiasm for rights protection;the judge did not standardize the application of the requirements.The third part,the cause of the dilemma of the application of punitive damages for trademark infringement in my country.Based on the sorting out of relevant cases,it reflects the existing problems in the application of punitive damages for trademark infringement in my country.The reason for this is that the application of punitive damages for trademarks is “infringement of the exclusive right to use a trademark with serious circumstances”.What constitutes "malicious violation" and "serious circumstances" is not yet clear.In addition,it is difficult to determine the basic compensation amount in most trademark infringement cases,and it is difficult to calculate the amount of punitive damages.For judges,it is an economical and efficient way.Moreover,judges confuse punitive damages and statutory damages in the application process.Multiple factors lead to low application rate of punitive damages.The fourth part,the perfect path for the application of punitive damages for trademark infringement.Refine the applicable standards for punitive damages,change "malicious" to "intentional",and clarify the connotation of "serious circumstances";Reasonably determine the base and multiple of punitive damages,reduce the difficulty of calculation,and improve the application of punitive damages;Use discretionary compensation rules to assist in determining the amount of compensation;improve the evidence system to reduce the difficulty of proof for the right holder;clarify the relationship between punitive damages and statutory damages,encourage the application of punitive damages to return to the mainstream,and avoid the generalization of statutory damages;determine the punitive damages for trademark infringement Applicable limits on damages to prevent undue punishment of infringers.Give play to the role of administrative law enforcement agencies in the protection of trademark rights and achieve multiple protections.