Facebook在中国打赢商标官司

中国消费者没法再用“face book”来提神解渴了，因为Facebook罕见地赢了一场对中国公司的商标权官司。

与之相反，苹果公司上个月则未能阻止一家中国公司在皮具上使用“IPHONE”商标。

有律师指出，外界经常认为中国的知识产权保护相当松懈，但这种情况正在稳步改善。赢得这场官司或许给Facebook进入中国带来了一丝希望。目前在中国还上不了这个社交网络，它的中国业务也以为中国企业在海外打广告为主。

北京市高级人民法院裁定，中山市珠江饮料厂2011年为部分食品饮料产品申请“face book”商标显然是山寨行为，而且有损于市场公平竞争。

Facebook女发言人拒绝就此发表评论。珠江饮料厂一位员工透露，这场官司在该厂并不广为人知。我们尚未和珠江饮料厂负责人取得联系。

Facebook首席执行官马克•扎克伯格及其他高管一直在协力争取中国政府的支持。今年3月，中共中央政治局常委、中央书记处书记刘云山罕见地会见了扎克伯格，这表明Facebook和中国政府的关系正在升温。

扎克伯格频繁在中国刷头条。用中文发表演讲，晒出雾霾中在天安门广场跑步的照片，这些举动让他在中国出了名。

Facebook此前曾两次向中国工商总局商标评审委员会提出申诉，但均未成功，遂决定通过法律途径解决此次商标纠纷。（财富中文网）

译者：Charlie

审校：詹妮

Chinese people won’t be able to quench their thirst with a refreshing “face book” beverage, after the U.S. social networking company won a rare trademark victory against a local firm in China.

By contrast, Apple AAPL 0.08% last month lost its battle to prevent a domestic company from using the “iPhone” trademark on leather goods in China.

China’s intellectual property protections are often perceived as quite lax but they are steadily improving, lawyers say. The victory may offer a glimmer of hope for Facebook FB -0.21% in China, where its social network is not accessible and its business is mainly selling overseas advertising for Chinese companies.

The Beijing Municipal High People’s Court said the Zhongshan Pearl River Drinks application, filed in 2011, to label certain foods and beverages “face book” was an obvious act of copying and harmed fair market competition.

A Facebook spokeswoman declined to comment. An employee at Pearl River Drinks said the case was not widely known at the company and that the staff member in charge of it was not available for comment.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives have made concerted efforts to woo Chinese officials. In March, Zuckerberg had a rare meeting with the country’s propaganda tsar, a suggestion of warming relations between Facebook and the government.

Zuckerberg frequently makes headlines in China, where he has achieved celebrity status by making speeches in Mandarin and sharing pictures of runs through noxious smog in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Facebook had previously objected to China’s Trademark Review and Adjudication Board twice but was unsuccessful, prompting its decision to take the case to court.