萬國法律事務所

Taiwan’s Supreme Administrative Court recently ruled that the trademarks Wei Chuan (味全) and Wei Xiang Chuan & Design (味香全) are not so similar that there would exist a likelihood of confusion among consumers if the marks are both used in Taiwan and thus dismissed the claim brought by Wei Chuan against Zhuang Yan Food Co., Ltd. (莊巖食品有限公司), the owner of “Wei Xiang Chuan & Design” mark.

Wei Chuan Corp. filed an opposition at the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office against Zhuang Yan’s registered Wei Xiang Chuan & Design mark. Wei Chuan based its opposition against Zhuang Yan’s mark on its Wei Chuan mark, and argued that the goods with which both marks were used on are low-priced cooking oils purchased primarily by housewives, a sub-group of consumers who are not able to distinguish between the two similar marks.

The Court, however, was not convinced by Wei Chuan’s argument and stated that the marks are actually sufficiently different that their concurrent use on identical products will not lead to consumer confusion. Zhuang Yan’s Wei Xiang Chuan & Design mark uses an orange background and has a white and dark blue color design. Wei Chuan has never used this combination of colors with its Wei Chuan mark. Therefore, Wei Chuan’s claims were dismissed.