Heng Yuanxiang suddenly withdraws the case and may lose the sheep's head trademark

Yesterday, Yu Wenqing’s attorney and Liu Ming of Beijing’s Hechuan Law Firm disclosed to reporters that Hengyuan Xiang has officially submitted a withdrawal application to the Changshu Court regarding the Hengyuanxiang copyright case. In response to Heng Yuanxiang’s withdrawal, Liu Ming stated that Xingyelong will continue to maintain Hengyuanxiang’s trademark infringement claims.

Hengyuan Xiang company vice president, press spokesman Chen Zhongwei confirmed the news. However, the specific reason for withdrawal of the case, Chen Zhongwei said that it is not yet disclosed. Earlier there was news that the reason for Heng Yuanxiang to withdraw the lawsuit was the need to collect more evidence.

As early as November 2009, Xingyelong sued Hengyuanxiang Company to Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court for infringement of trademark copyright and claimed RMB 10 million. In response, Heng Yuanxiang counterclaimed the other party's infringement of his copyright, accused the other party of malicious squatting and filed a trademark objection with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, claiming 4,000 yuan from Yu Wenqing. Subsequently, Heng Yuanxiang submitted a change of lawsuit request to the People’s Court of Changshu City, approving Xingye Long as the defendant, and increased the claim amount to RMB 500,000. According to Liu Ming, at the time, the main contention between the plaintiff and the defendant was "Whether the sheep's head pattern is the original wisdom of Hengyuanxiang Group or belongs to the public domain."

The Hengyuanxiang Group believes that “Sheilou” is a work that Hengyuanxiang has completed independently and should enjoy copyright.

Liu Ming believes that there is no difference between the public domain of Oracle and Heng Yuanxiang's fine art works, and Heng Yuanxiang does not invest in intellectual work. Therefore, the “Sheep Toe” trademark does not have the “creative” originality conditions.

Some lawyers pointed out that Heng Yuan Xiang did not request the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to revoke the registered trademark within five years from the date of trademark registration. Now that the best time for litigation has passed, the situation is very unfavorable to Heng Yuan Xiang. Once Heng Yuanxiang loses the case, it is very likely that he will lose the “Sheep Head” trademark.