Henan Junjian Liquor’s Trade Dress Infringement and Unfair Competition (Jan 2026)

This administrative complaint case was initiated by Jingpai Co., Ltd., the owner of the well-known alcoholic drink “China Jinjiu”, against Henan Junjian Liquor Co., Ltd. in January 2026. The complainant filed an administrative petition to local market supervision authorities, claiming that the defendant’s main product “China Jinyuan” liqueur used trademarks and overall trade dress highly similar to “China Jinjiu”, misleading ordinary consumers and violating trademark laws and anti-unfair competition regulations . Law enforcement officers conducted on-site inspections and seized thousands of boxes of infringing liquor and packaging materials. Comparative verification confirmed that the two products shared nearly identical core design elements: red bottle caps, red-and-gold rectangular labels and central circular patterns. The words “Jinyuan” also had similar pronunciation and font to “Jinjiu”. Notably, the defendant had been ordered to stop using the similar trade dress by a previous court judgment but resumed production deliberately, which aggravated its illegal conduct.

The local market supervision bureau ruled that the defendant committed two violations: unauthorized use of confusingly similar trademarks and counterfeiting the distinctive trade dress of a famous commodity, which constitutes unfair competition. The authority confiscated all infringing goods and imposed a fine of 20,000 RMB. Legally, this case clarifies that repeated violations after judicial rulings will face stricter administrative penalties. It also emphasizes that well-known commodity trade dress receives independent legal protection apart from trademarks. For the alcoholic beverage industry, manufacturers must avoid free-riding on established brands’ visual designs. Even if trademarks are slightly modified, imitating overall packaging and layout will trigger administrative sanctions. This case also sets a warning that ignoring court and administrative orders will lead to escalated legal liabilities.