Recently, the Beijing Trademark Association released the “Administrative Litigation Cases of 2025”. The administrative litigation case concerning the review of refusal of Intel Corporation’s sound trademark, represented by Lusheng Law Firm, was honorably selected.
Brief Introduction of the Case
In 2021, Intel Corporation updated its classic sound sign “灯，等灯等灯” and applied for registration of the new version of the sound sign as a trademark. The China National Intellectual Property Administration rejected the application on the ground that the sound trademark fell under the circumstance of “lack of distinctiveness” as prescribed in Article 11, Paragraph 1, Item (3) of the Trademark Law. Subsequently, Intel Corporation engaged Lusheng Law Firm to take full responsibility for formulating the litigation strategy and acting as counsel in this case, and instituted an action against the review of refusal decision. In the course of the litigation, Lusheng’s lawyers systematically sorted out and constructed a complete chain of evidence regarding the distinctiveness of the sound trademark, and submitted a large volume of evidence to the court to demonstrate that, through long-term publicity and use, the sound sign had established a corresponding relationship with Intel and was capable of distinguishing the source of goods. Ultimately, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court fully adopted the arguments advanced by our firm, held that the sound trademark did not fall under the circumstance of lack of distinctiveness and did not violate Article 11, Paragraph 1, Item (3) of the Trademark Law, and rendered a judgment revoking the challenged review of refusal decision.
Typical Significance
I. Filling the Judicial Gap and Establishing a Benchmark for the Assessment of Distinctiveness of Sound Trademarks
Since sound trademarks were first brought within the scope of protection by the Trademark Law in 2014, only slightly more than 40 sound trademarks have been registered, which is a very small number. Apart from this case, the only prior case in which a sound trademark was ultimately allowed registration by overturning a review of refusal decision through judicial review was the Tencent QQ alert tone case, and there are very few judicial precedents for reference. The fact that Intel’s sound trademark has ultimately been registered through judicial review constitutes a valuable exploration of the current standards for approval and registration of sound trademarks.
II. Overcoming the Difficulties of Proof and Constructing an Evidentiary System for Acquired Distinctiveness of Sound Trademarks
Sound trademarks differ from traditional visual trademarks in that they cannot be directly affixed to products or their transactional documents to form a corresponding relationship, and usually require specific playback media for independent playback, being separate from the products. In light of this factor, Lusheng’s lawyers focused on the correspondence between the sound trademark and the provider of the products, and constructed a triadic chain of evidence linking the sound, the word mark and the products, supplemented by evidence of advertising and promotion and proof of consumer recognition, thereby forming a logically rigorous and well-structured evidentiary system. It was ultimately successfully demonstrated that, through long-term publicity and use, the sound trademark had established a unique corresponding relationship with the plaintiff. This case provides a replicable and scalable practical path for adducing evidence to prove acquired distinctiveness of sound trademarks.
III. Standing at the Forefront of the Industry and Opening Up New Fields of Legal Services for Sound Trademarks
Against the backdrop of the rapid development of the mobile Internet, sound trademarks, as dynamic identifiers, have a higher degree of compatibility with advanced network technologies than traditional word or device trademarks, and are better aligned with the characteristics of large volume and high speed of online dissemination. They can even, to a certain extent, transcend geographical and linguistic barriers and spread rapidly worldwide. The diversification of future marketing media will bring greater attention and application to sound trademarks in identifying the source of goods or services. The successful experience in this case opens up broader space for the commercial application and value realization of sound trademarks in the Internet era.
