中國iPhone商標權(quán)大戰(zhàn)蘋果敗訴

HONG KONG — In China, an iPhone can be found fora small fraction of the official price. It just mightnot be a phone.

香港——在中國，只要花上一筆遠遠不到官方價格的小錢，你就能買到iPhone產(chǎn)品。但它可能連手機都不是。

A Chinese company has won the right to sell itsleather goods under the iPhone trademark afteryears of legal back-and-forth with Apple, accordingto an article in Chinese state news media. The case isyet another that centers on names that are wellestablished in much of the world but that have had to fight for control in China, such as thebasketball star Michael Jordan and the shoe brand New Balance.

中國官方新聞媒體的一篇文章報道，在與蘋果(Apple)進行多年法律較量之后，一家中國公司獲得了使用iPhone商標出售皮具制品的權(quán)利。此前已經(jīng)有過一些類似案件：在世界很多地方家喻戶曉的名字，不得不在中國為商標的控制權(quán)而戰(zhàn)，比如籃球明星邁克爾·喬丹(Michael Jordan)和鞋類品牌新百倫(New Balance)。

The Chinese company, Xintong Tiandi, applied for the iPhone trademark in China just after thefirst Apple smartphones came out, in 2007, according to an article by the state-run Legal Dailylast week. Still, Xintong Tiandi’s trademark in China, for leather goods, was approved beforeApple’s, which had applied for the rights in 2002, the article said.

這家中國公司名為新通天地。官方報紙《法制日報》上周的文章稱，就在2007年第一款蘋果智能手機發(fā)布之后不久，新通天地在中國申請注冊iPhone商標。文中表示，盡管如此，新通天地在中國為皮具制品申請的商標，仍比在2002年提交申請的蘋果公司更早獲得批準。

The website of Xintong Tiandi features a range of leather products, including pen cases,passport holders, handbags and wallets, all stamped with “iPhone.” None of the products arephones. In a news release issued last week, the company also featured photographs of its otherproducts, like a leather iPad case labeled “iphone” next to a bottle of Rémy Martin Cognac.

新通天地的網(wǎng)站上展示了多款皮具，比如筆盒、護照套、手袋及錢包，全都帶有“iPhone”標識。沒有任何一款產(chǎn)品是手機。在上周的一篇新聞稿中，公司還貼出了其他一些產(chǎn)品的圖片，比如帶有“iphone”標識的一款皮質(zhì)iPad保護套，旁邊擺著一瓶人頭馬干邑(Rémy Martin Cognac)。

In the news release, the Chinese company said that the “huge victory brings esteem toXintong Tiandi’s promise to protect the iPhone trademark,” before adding that it was willingto work with Apple. Apple declined to comment on the case on Wednesday.

在新聞稿中，這家中國公司表示，蘋果“偉大的成功令人尊重，在此，新通天地科技(北京)有限公司承諾：為了維護好‘IPHONE’商標這一美好的形象”，愿意與蘋果公司合作。蘋果周三拒絕對此案置評。

While the Chinese company’s approach might be perplexing, it testifies to the power ofApple’s name recognition in the country. The iPhone brand signals middle- or even upper-class status in China, and many are expected to be willing to pay for a passport cover or otheritem labeled with the Apple product’s name as a way to show that they have made it.

雖然新通天地的做法可能令人費解，但它證明了蘋果在中國的知名度。iPhone品牌在這里是中產(chǎn)乃至上層階級的身份標志，也許很多人愿意讓自己的護照套或其他用品上帶有蘋果產(chǎn)品的名稱，顯示自己是成功人士。

The iPhone ruling, in a high court in the Beijing municipality, is just one of a spate of high-profile trademark and piracy cases in China. The country’s huge number of factories, bolsteredby a 100 million-strong class of migrant workers, has made China the workshop of the world,able, among other activities, to quickly pump out products that can make a company a quickprofit on the impulse to imitate.

對iPhone商標權(quán)的裁決由北京市高級人民法院做出，而這只是一連串引人矚目的商標和盜版案件中的一起。中國擁有數(shù)量龐大的工廠和逾一億農(nóng)民工，因而成為世界工廠。其他不說，只要模仿的念頭一起，他們就有能力迅速造出產(chǎn)品，輕松給公司帶來利潤。

Aiding them is a first-to-file trademark system that lets “unrelated third parties registertrademarks which are copies or imitations of well-known brands,” according to a post last yearfrom law firm DLA Piper.

中國商標法采用的“先申請制”幫了他們的忙。歐華律師事務所(DLA Piper)去年在一篇帖子中表示，“不相關(guān)的第三方因此可以注冊知名品牌模仿品或抄襲品的商標。”

Among other high-profile cases, Michael Jordan lost the rights to the name he is known by inChina, and New Balance paid $16 million in damages for what a court said was the illegal useof the Chinese name for the company, which a person had trademarked.

其他一些案例也備受矚目：邁克爾·喬丹失去了在中國使用這個商標的權(quán)利，新百倫則支付了9800萬元人民幣的賠償金，因為法院裁定公司使用這個中文名是非法的，它已經(jīng)被某個人注冊過了。

Apple had previously faced a similar situation with the iPad. In 2012, the company was forcedto pay $60 million for the rights to use the iPad trademark in China. Apple had bought therights to the name in a number of countries, but after iPad tablet sales took off in China, aChinese company said it had not secured the rights in that country.

蘋果的iPad此前也遇到過類似情況。在2012年，為了獲得在中國使用iPad商標的權(quán)利，公司不得不花費6000萬美元。蘋果此前在很多國家買下了使用這個商標的權(quán)利，但在中國，隨著iPad平板的銷量飆升，一家中國公司表示，蘋果在那里并沒有取得使用這個商標的權(quán)利。

The case caps a tough couple of weeks for Apple. Last month, the company’s iTunes Movies andiBooks stores in China were ordered shut by a national regulator. The company also reportedlast week that sales in China had dropped, as it struggles to keep the loyalty and admirationof fickle Chinese consumers.

蘋果近幾周來諸事不順，現(xiàn)在又遇到了這樁案件。上個月，蘋果在中國的iTunes Movies和iBooks商店被國家監(jiān)管機構(gòu)勒令關(guān)閉。中國消費者頗為善變，蘋果在維持他們的忠誠度和崇尚之情方面遭遇了困難。上周公布的財報顯示，該公司在中國的銷售額出現(xiàn)了下滑。