Case Summary

The defendants Liu Changsheng, Hu Xuerong, and Liu Chang sold counterfeit “Lafite” and “Great Wall” red wine products with sales amount reaching 250,000 yuan and unsold red wine products seized amounted for around 130,000 yuan. The case was prosecuted by the People's Procuratorate of Changsha, Hunan, and the People's Court of Yuhua District of Changsha, Hunan heard the case publicly.

Court Judgement

The three defendants confessed to the facts of the crime. The court sentenced that they had constituted the sale of counterfeit products of registered trademarks. Liu was sentenced to 3 years in prison, probation for 4 years, and fined with 10,000 yuan; Hu Xuerong and Liu Chang were sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison, probation for 2 years, and a fine of 10,000 yuan.

Typical Significance

This case is the first criminal case for Lafite to protect their IP rights in China. Unitalen partners, Hou Yujing and Zhang Jingyuan, the representing lawyers of Lafite Rothschild, believes that the trial and judgement of the case had not only protected the legitimate rights of the trademark registrants of the case, but also, to a certain extent, to curb the proliferation of counterfeit products of registered trademarks in Tier 3 and 4 cities in China, reflecting the strength and determination of the judicial crackdown on IP crimes.