Protection Of Merchandising Rights In China

The merchandising rights normally refer to but not limited to the commercial interests involved in a real character such as a celebrity, or in a fictional character such as an imagery character in movies, cartoons or animations. Until today, the merchandising rights have not been defined at the legislative level in China, yet their protection has already been seen in some cases.

In Apple Corps Limited v. the TRAB, the Beijing High People's Court affirmed that the merchandising rights in the name of a well-known band, the "Beetles", are protectable.

Against the trademark application No.4375006 for "TEAM BEATLES Plus the Chinese Characters for the 'Beatles' and the figure", Apple initiated an opposition action on, inter alia, that said trademark violates its prior rights on the "Beatles". While the Trademark Office and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board("TRAB") all denied the opposition request, the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court made a decision