The Trademark laws of China have undergone revision three times,
the most recent one being in 2013. In addition to this, China is
not a common law country therefore; the Doctrine of stare decisis
(precedents) is not followed by the Courts leaving room for
uncertainty on the legal position on various issues. One such issue
is whether the use of a mark for Original Equipment Manufacturer
(OEM), exclusively for export, should be construed as 'use'
in China. The Supreme People's Court of China has provided some
clarity on this issue in its recent decision.
In the case of Focker v Ya Huan, Focker Security
International Ltd (hereinafter, Focker) a Hong-Kong based company
filed a suit against Zhejiang Ya Huan Lockset Co Ltd (hereinafter,
Ya Huan) for infringing its registered trademark 'PRETUL'
and its oval shape. Ya Huan claimed that the mark 'PRETUL'
was being used by them for the OEM pack locks that were processed
for the Mexico based company – Chu Bo and were also meant
