Bilibili's application for the trademark registration of "Small TV" was rejected due to its similarity to the trademark of NicoNico

Bilibili, a well-known barrage video website, submitted an application for registration of its small TV trademark as early as August 31, 2017. Recently, there has been new progress. The Beijing Intellectual Property Court ruled to reject Bilibili's request.

After careful review, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court held that the evidence provided by Bilibili could not show that the trademark it applied for was distinctive enough to be distinguished from the cited trademark, and that it was similar to the well-known Japanese video site NicoNico in terms of element composition, overall appearance, and visual effects. If used in the same field, it would cause confusion, and therefore the application was rejected.

On August 31, 2017, Shanghai Huandian Information Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Bilibili), the operating company of Bilibili, applied to register the graphic trademark No. 26167628, which is a small TV. The application is registered in Class 41 for services such as radio entertainment programs; provision of sports facilities; mobile libraries; provision of online games on computer networks; training; toy rental; animal training; provision of modeling services for artists; provision of online electronic publications (non-downloadable); and organization of educational or entertainment competitions.

Bilibili filed a rejection review, stating that the small TV logo has gained a certain degree of popularity after long-term use and publicity, and will not cause confusion with the cited trademark.

However, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board believes that the two trademarks are similar in terms of graphic composition, overall appearance, visual effects, as well as the specific service content designated for registration, and should be rejected.

Bilibili chose to sue the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. This site will continue to pay attention to subsequent developments.