Anqing Tianzhu Beer Co., Ltd. filed an application to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) to register "联想" as beer trademark and got approval. To recapture the trademark, Lenovo (Beijing) Co., Ltd brought the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board and the third person Anqing Tianzhu Beer Co., Ltd. to the court.

The attorney of Lenovo (Beijing) Co., Ltd appealed that, the trademark "联想"was recognized as China Well-known Trademark as early as January 1999. That Anqing Tianzhu Beer Co., Ltd, with the knowledge that "联想"is a well-known trademark, applied to register "联想"as their own trademark will confuse consumers in the origin and such action is obviously malicious. Therefore, Lenono (Beijing) Co., Ltd requested the court to remove the ruling of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board.

According to the debating opinions of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, the appellee thought that, though the trademark "联想" has high familiarity among consumers, the two characters "联想" are common Chinese words. The commodities bearing the disputed trademark and those bearing the trademark "联想"of the plaintiff have noticeable differences in function, use, raw material and distribution channels, and the consumers can not believe that the beer bearing the trademark "联想"is made by the plaintiff.

The case will be judged someday.  
                                                                                                Source: IPR in China