Ledong Fertilizer Trademark and Trade Name Unfair Competition (Dec 2025)

In December 2025, Haifa (Beijing) Trading Co., Ltd. filed an administrative report to Ledong Market Supervision Bureau, accusing a local fertilizer retailer of unfair competition and trademark infringement 乐东黎族自治县人民政府网. The complainant owns the registered trademark “HAIFA” for fertilizers. The retailer sold water-soluble fertilizer printed with “HAIFA Kenlibao” and falsely labeled the manufacturer as “Israel Haifa Industrial Chemical Co.” and “Haifa (Chemical) Shandong Co.”. The retailer adopted the identical “HAIFA” brand name on product packages and used the plaintiff’s well-known trade name, easily misleading farmers to believe there was a corporate affiliation between the two parties.

After filing the case, regulators verified the retailer failed to perform inspection obligations: it did not verify suppliers’ qualifications or retain purchase documents when stocking the goods. The defendant claimed it was a mere seller unaware of the infringement. The market supervision bureau analyzed that combining identical registered trademarks and famous trade names on the same category of goods constitutes dual violations of the Trademark Law and Anti-Unfair Competition Law. Using others’ registered trademarks as part of a corporate name to mislead consumers is a typical unfair competition act. The authority ordered the retailer to remove all infringing labels, stop selling the involved fertilizer and imposed corresponding fines. This case highlights the joint protection of trademarks and trade names in the agricultural input sector. Retailers bear statutory inspection duties; ignorance of infringement cannot exempt them from administrative liabilities. It also demonstrates that administrative organs can efficiently handle cross-regional brand infringement through complaint-based investigations and standardized evidence collection.