An electronic manufacturer in China recently sued Chinese LED luminaire manufacturer Opple Lighting for trademark infringement, according to a report from Fawan, a Chinese media specializing in legal news.

Opple Lighting has trademark rights of using OUPU in luminaire products, but not for electronic devices it manufactures. The company was sued by a man surnamed Wang for infringing the OUPU trademark, by labeling electric sockets, wires, and other non-luminaire electronic devices with the trademark.

Wang and other plaintiffs are seeking a compensation of RMB 50 million (US $7.64 million) from Opple, and filed a complaint against the Chinese lighting brand in Chaoyang District Court in Beijing, China.

The plaintiff used Opple’s 2014 revenue statement as reference for compensation claims. The lighting company’s reported consolidated revenue reached RMB 677 million in 2014, in which electronic device revenue share that year reached 37.86%, while gross margin was 50.66% for this particular business sector. These financial figures was used by the plaintiff for compensation claims that highlighted Opple profited from the OUPU brand electronic product sales.

Wang registered the OUPU trademark symbol for electric plugs, sockets, vacuum tubes and other electronic devices in 2010, and the trademark is effective till July 20, 2020.

In 2011, Opple Lighting filed a trademark lawsuit against Wang and submitted a complaint to China’s Trademark Office of The State Administration for Industry and Commerce, requesting the ban of Wang’s OUPU brand for three years, and to revoke the trademark application. Following a review by the trademark office, the OUPU trademark was found effective and continued to be effective after June 2012.

In court, Wang’s legal representatives emphasized Opple Lighting had the trademark right of using OUPU trademark for its lighting products, but not for electronic devices.

The defendant, Opple Lighting, claimed their products were finished end products, while those manufactured by the plaintiff are half-finished products, and belong to a completely different product category.

However, the defendant presented evidence that Opple Lighting sold products with OUPU labelled on electric plugs, and the company has more than 30,000 retailers in 31 provinces and cities across China.

Opple Lighting refuted that the retail stores mentioned by the plaintiff were selling luminaire products, and the Opple trademark was used on the electric plugs in question, which does not infringe OUPU’s trademark.

The defendant also claimed Opple Lighting sold trademark infringed products on more than 10 online retail platforms, and profited enormously from the proceeds. Wang’s lawyers noted that after the defendant alerted an ecommerce website about the issue, Opple Lighting took the product off the online store shelves.

Opple Lighting’s legal representatives explained, the company retains the right to change website information, and initially the company did not want to engage in a commercial lawsuit with the defendant. According to Opple Lighting’s legal representative: “Although, we admit to patent infringement (so we can reach a legal settlement), it does not mean our products have infringed trademark rights.”