A court in China's largest city, Shanghai, Tuesday ordered a local health product firm and a research institute to stop actions of infringement upon the intellectual property rights of the Shanghai Minsheng Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute.
The court also asked the two defendants, Shanghai Dahan Glossy Ganoderma Health Product Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Jumao Medicine Research Institute, to pay one yuan (US$0.12) in compensation to the plaintiff and apologize to the plaintiff.
This was the lowest compensation fee amount in cases involving intellectual property right in Shanghai.
Shanghai Minsheng Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute alleged that the two defendants infringed upon its intellectual property rights by making false advertisements on TV.
Shanghai Dahan Glossy Ganoderma Health Product Co., Ltd. began producing glossy ganoderma health products by using technology and glossy ganoderma developed by Minsheng in 1996.
In November 1997, the health product was authorized a health food certificate by the Ministry of Health.
In 1998, Minsheng stopped cooperating with Dahan but agreed that Dahan could still use its name in product packages free of charge.
However, Minsheng found that the defendants used the name of Shanghai Jumao Medicine Research Institute in advertisements for the health product in local TV advertisements in February and March of this year.
The defendants were also found to have published articles in newspapers claiming that a breakthrough in glossy ganoderma research has been made by Shanghai Jumao Medicine Research Institute.
Minsheng believed that Dahan and Jumao medicine research institute infringed upon its right and lodged a complaint against the two.
(People’s Daily)
