Honda Sues 3 Chinese Firms In Trademark Dispute

NEW YORK -October 11, 2002 Dow Jones reported that Honda Motor Co. has filed a lawsuit with a Beijing court against three Chinese companies, accusing them of selling products that infringe its trademark rights, company officials said Friday, Kyodo News agency reported.

Honda is asking the court to order the companies to halt the output of such products, and is demanding damages of 22 million yuan (CNY1.00=$0.120963), they said.

Among the three Chinese companies is Chongqing Lifan Industry (Group) Co., a motorcycle manufacturer based in Chongqing, that puts a trademark that reads " Hongda" on two models of its motorcycles, which could cause people to think they were Honda machines, the officials said.

Honda filed the lawsuit after unsuccessfully negotiating with the companies to seek the end of the use of the confusing trademarks, the officials said, according to Kyodo.

Yamaha Motor Co., another Japanese motorcycle manufacturer, won a court case in August against a Chinese maker in Tianjin in a similar trademark dispute, and obtained CNY900,000 in compensation.

Since joining the World Trade Organization in December last year, China has revised its trademark regulations to comply with international rules. It announced specific law implementation examples in September to enhance the protection of trademark rights.