Final Judgment in 'N' Shoe Counterfeiting Case: Family Members Rotating Business Entities Held Jointly Liable for 8 Million RMB

WISECODE Take

Many business owners mistakenly believe that frequently changing the registered legal entity of an online store can help them evade liability in trademark infringement lawsuits. The final judgment of the Fujian High People's Court on September 11, 2026, shattered this illusion, ruling that Chen and other family members rotating business entities infringed on the registered trademark No. 5942394 "N" and ordering 8 million RMB in damages. The court pierced the family division of labor and determined that selling over 520,000 pairs of infringing shoes constituted joint infringement. This evasion tactic, akin to frequently changing unit designations in guerrilla warfare, is no longer effective, while businesses operating their own brands legitimately remain unaffected. This is the opportune time to utilize Zhipatent's trademark monitoring services to proactively defend against counterfeiters. I propose two strategies. First, when protecting rights, gather substantial related information such as shipping addresses, phone numbers, and financial transactions of the infringing store to support joint infringement claims. Second, complete core trademark layouts during the initial brand stage to avoid passive litigation after market erosion. Judicial piercing of corporate veils means future litigation will focus on actual business operations, rendering dummy firewalls useless.