No matter which method is chosen to pursue the legal liability of the intellectual property infringer, the parties need to provide relevant evidence to the relevant presiding authority, including evidence proving the validity of the intellectual property rights (rights evidence) and evidence showing that the intellectual property rights have been infringed (rights evidence) and evidence of relevant damages.
(1) Rights evidence. The rights evidence provided by the parties usually needs to prove the following points.
The party is the owner of the right or its interested party, so he is a legal plaintiff or complainant. ② The intellectual property right legally exists and is valid in China and can therefore be exercised according to law.
As far as trademark rights are concerned, the purpose of submitting such evidence is to prove the ownership of the trademark right, what type of trademark is protected, whether it is a well-known trademark, and thus determine the scope of protection of the trademark right.
Mainly includes: a. Trademark registration certificate (if the color is specified, the original trademark registration certificate must be submitted) and renewal procedures. If it is an international trademark registration, it is necessary to issue a certificate of validity of the international registration in China issued by the State Trademark Office.
b. Well-known trademark certification.
As far as patent rights are concerned, the purpose of submitting such evidence is to clarify the ownership, status, validity period of the patent right and the scope of protection of the patent right.
It mainly includes: a. Patent certificate, including the authorized claims, specification and drawings. If the patent right has undergone invalidation or revocation procedures and the patent documents have been changed, the corresponding administrative review decision should be submitted. If it is a utility model patent, it is best to have a search report issued by the State Intellectual Property Office to prove that the utility model is patentable. b. The receipt for the most recent annual fee payment. c. If the exclusive implementation licensee and the patentee file an infringement lawsuit together as joint plaintiffs, they should also submit the exclusive implementation license contract.
(2) Infringement evidence. The infringement evidence provided by the parties should be able to prove that the defendant has committed or is committing the alleged infringement. For example, the defendant’s promotional materials, the defendant’s product samples, the defendant’s product sales contracts, sales invoices, etc.
Evidence that the defendant has committed acts of infringing its trademark rights. The purpose of submitting such evidence is to confirm in what form the defendant has violated the plaintiff’s trademark rights and the scope of the infringement.
Mainly include: the alleged infringing products produced by the defendant and sales invoices, sales contracts, audio-visual materials, etc. When the plaintiff cannot obtain the alleged infringing products, the invoices and contracts for the sales of the alleged infringing products can also be used as direct evidence.
Evidence that the defendant has committed acts of infringing the plaintiff’s patent rights. The purpose of submitting this evidence is to prove that the defendant has committed acts of infringing the plaintiff’s patent rights and is the factual basis for ordering the defendant to bear civil liability for infringement.
Mainly include: a. The alleged infringing products produced by the defendant, that is, direct evidence of the infringement. b. If the alleged infringing products cannot be obtained due to objective reasons, indirect evidence such as advertisements published by the defendant in newspapers and periodicals to sell its products and sales contracts signed with others can be provided first, and then direct evidence of infringement can be obtained in other ways. c. Evidence that the sellers and users of the alleged infringing products know that the products are infringing products but still sell and use them. d. The plaintiff’s comparison between the alleged infringing products and the plaintiff’s patent claims, explaining how their technical features fall within the scope of protection of the plaintiff’s patent, thereby constituting an infringement of the plaintiff’s patent rights.
(3) Evidence related to damages. In an infringement lawsuit, when the plaintiff demands compensation from the defendant, he or she shall submit the calculation method of the relevant compensation amount. Since there is more than one method to calculate the compensation amount in several types of intellectual property infringement cases, when several calculation methods can be used, the plaintiff shall choose the most favorable calculation method to protect his or her own legitimate interests and submit corresponding evidence accordingly.