Recognising a well-known trademark strengthens brand protection In 1996, 2004 and 2005, Land Rover Company successively applied to register the “路虎”, “LANDROVER” and “Landrover路虎” trademarks in China. All of the above trademarks were approved for use on Class 12 goods such as “land motor vehicles”, and had a relatively high level of recognition. A food company in Guangzhou promoted and sold its “路虎 vitamin drink” on websites and in physical shops. In 2010, the company had applied to register the “路虎LANDROVER” trademark for goods in Class 30 such as “non-medical nutritional liquids” and Class 32 such as “non-alcoholic beverages”, but all of those applications were refused. Land Rover Company brought a lawsuit on the grounds of infringement. The court of first instance ordered the company to stop the infringement and to pay Land Rover Company RMB 1.2 million in economic losses and reasonable enforcement expenses. The court of second instance held that the evidence submitted by Land Rover Company was sufficient to prove that the trademarks at issue had become widely known to the public in China and had reached the level of a well-known trademark. The alleged infringing acts weakened the distinctiveness and good reputation of the well-known trademark at issue owned by Land Rover Company and harmed its interests, and should therefore be stopped. Accordingly, the court dismissed the appeal and upheld the original judgment.