Honda, Lifan battle in lawsuit over trademark
By Liu Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-06-11 10:34

Giant automaker Honda is asking the courts to decide what's in a name.

A year-long dispute sparked by a single letter in a name used by a Chinese motorcycle manufacturer sprouted again yesterday in Beijing.

Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company accused the Chongqing Lifan Industrial Group of using the name "Hongda" on motorcycles.

The Japanese giant says the one-letter difference is just too small for most consumers.

"Hongda is very likely to be mistaken by consumers as Honda,the famous brand," said lawyer Xin Zhesheng in court. "It is absolutely illegal for the defendant to continue the use of the Hongda trademark."

The case started last November at the Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court.

The giant Japanese automaker said Lifan used the Hongda symbol on motorcycles made before last year and sold in Beijing.

The company is seeking 12.5 million yuan (US1.5 million) in damages.

The Japanese plaintiff also asked for a public apology to be published on the Beijing-based People's Daily newspaper.

Chongqing Lifan Hongda Company is the former name of the Chongqing Lifan Industrial Group.

Xin said Lifan's registration application for the Hongda trademark was rejected by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce's trademark bureau in the 1990s.

Honda registered its Honda trademark in China in 1982.

Lawyer Pang Zhengzhong, who represents the Lifan Group, said Hongda was used on motors only as decoration, not as a trademark.

"Our trademark is Lifan, which has been registered at the trademark bureau under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce," Pang said.

Pang further argued that there is great difference between characters of Hongda and Honda.

"The involved type of motorcycle is worth more than 5,000 yuan (US$600), much cheaper than the average price of Honda motors, priced at more than 20,000 yuan (US$2,400)," Pang said.

He said the Hongda cycles are manufactured to target consumers in rural areas. So the consumer groups are quite different from those of Honda.

He said Lifan does not need to violate Honda's trademark as Lifan's sales has topped the motorcycle market in the country since 2001.

However, the Chongqing Lifan Industrial Group quit using Hongda on its products in 2003, sources with the company said.

Industry insiders said they believed Japanese Honda accused Lifan of illegal use of Hongda because Lifan's action eroded into Honda's market share in the country.

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