Question raised

Xiaomei is a beauty blogger who usually purchases cosmetics from major brands, unpacks them, and repackages them into small sample sizes for sale. One day, Xiaomei received a subpoena from the court. It turned out that A brand cosmetics company had sued Xiaomei in court, claiming that Xiaomei had self packaged small samples for sale without the permission and authorization of A brand, and had labeled A brand on the packaging. Infringed on the trademark rights of brand A. Xiaomei is very aggrieved, claiming that she sells genuine products purchased through official channels, with qualified quality and not counterfeit or inferior products. Moreover, when selling, she clearly tells consumers that she packaged the products herself, not the original ones, and did not deceive consumers. How can we talk about infringement. Both sides hold their own opinions.

Lawyer analysis

Article 1 of the Trademark Law stipulates that in order to strengthen trademark management, protect trademark exclusive rights, promote producers and operators to ensure the quality of goods and services, maintain trademark reputation, safeguard the interests of consumers and producers and operators, and promote the development of the socialist market economy, this Law is formulated.

Article 7 stipulates that the application for registration and use of trademarks shall follow the principle of good faith and trustworthiness. The trademark user shall be responsible for the quality of the goods in which the trademark is used.

Article 57 stipulates that the use of a trademark identical to the registered trademark on the same goods without the permission of the trademark registrant constitutes an infringement of the exclusive right to use the registered trademark.

From the above provisions, it can be seen that trademarks play an important role in marking goods. On the one hand, trademarks can identify the source of goods, and on the other hand, trademarks are also a representative of the quality of goods themselves. Many consumers choose products based on their trust in specific trademark brands. Therefore, our country's laws provide protection for trademark owners and prohibit the unauthorized use of commodity trademarks.

According to the aforementioned regulations, the trademark owner is responsible for the quality of the goods. The act of repackaging goods inevitably leads to changes in the original packaging or the goods themselves, at which point the repackaged goods are no longer under the control of the trademark owner over the quality of the goods. Especially for some products, the outer packaging is professionally designed and manufactured, which plays a crucial role in protecting the quality of the product. If it is randomly packaged, it may cause product quality problems. Once such products are sold, consumers may mistakenly believe that it is a quality issue with the product itself. Therefore, even if the genuine product is cut or packaged, the original quality cannot be guaranteed, which can easily reduce the recognition and trust of the relevant public for the product, and to some extent damage the brand reputation of the trademark owner. Therefore, the act of packaging is usually considered as constituting trademark infringement in practice.

In addition, for some special products such as food, cosmetics, drugs, etc., according to relevant regulations, detailed product information needs to be labeled on the outer packaging of the product to facilitate consumer awareness. For example, ingredients, precautions, storage methods, etc. However, once packaged, it is possible that the relevant information may not be labeled, resulting in consumers being unable to obtain complete information. If the consequences are caused by improper use, it may also damage the reputation of the trademark owner and the rights of consumers.
In summary, do not modify or resell goods without the permission of the trademark owner, otherwise even genuine products may face infringement claims.