The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Administration for Industry & Commerce declared lately that the trademark of Japan-based Toyomoto Corp. was invalid.
Established in 1985, Toyomoto Corp. started to shift its business focus to China in 2010.
In 2014, Japanese tire producer Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. proposed to SAIC to declare the trademark of Toyomoto invalid.
Toyo Tire & Rubber reckons that the trademark of Toyomoto imitated its “TOYO” trademark maliciously.
But Toyomoto insisted that the trademark is created by its own and is well known in Japan, the co-existence of the two trademarks will not make confusion.
SAIC finally decided that the trademark of Toyomoto is invalid.
Toyomoto has a number of manufacturers in China and has cooperated with two large Chinese firms in undertaking a tire producing company project in Saudi Arabia.
The project has adopted Toyomoto’s technology and products of the brand.
Once the trademark lawsuit fails, the investment will be severely affected and the Japanese company may face a huge claim by its partner.
Before the release of the decision, a person in charge in Toyomoto had said that if their trademark is declared invalid, the company will apply for a review or file a lawsuit.
