In this case, evidences show that “TIFFANY” and its transliterating mark “Difuni” in Chinese have a strong corresponding relation in jewelry via the long-term service of TIFFANY&CO.. Shanghai Zhendi Decorative Material Co., Ltd. registered the trademark “蒂凡尼”, it english name “DIFFANY”, and the combined trademark “蒂凡尼壁纸DIFFANY”. It is clear that Zhendi Company used the both trademarks together, trying to build a connection between “蒂凡尼” and “DIFFANY”. However, there is no doubt that “DIFFANY” is more similar with the well-known trademark “TIFFANY”. Therefore, it is obvious that Zhendi Company wants to play up to of TIFFANY&CO.. All things considered, the court maintained that the disputed trademark would mislead the public to associate “DIFFANY” with “TIFFANY”, mistaking the product’s manufacturer and causing the loss of TIFFANY&CO..
The case is a typical one governed by stopping the malicious registering action in Clause 2 of Article 13 of the trademark law. When judging whether the disputed registered trademark would mislead public and damage the interests of the well-known trademark proprietor, the court should take the reputation of the well-known trademark, the similarity between the disputed trademark and the well-known trademark, the relevant between the appointed products and the subjective intention of the register of disputed trademark into consideration.