Kubota Corporation (hereinafter “Kubota”) won the case against Henan Kubota Trading Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Henan Kubota”) over trademark infringement and unfair competition in China.

Henan Kubota’s trade name is registered as “河南久保田商貿有限公司” (Henan Kubota Trading Co., Ltd.), which includes the characters “久保田”, a registered trademark of Kubota in China. Henan Kubota used names that are reminiscent of Kubota such as “河南久保田” (Henan Kubota) and “久保田系列用油” (Kubota Series Oil) on its product packages and advertisements, and manufactured and sold lubricating oil and other products.

Kubota filed a suit on May 2017 with the Zhengzhou Intermediate People’s Court claiming that these acts constitute trademark infringement and unfair competition. Kubota won the first trial. Henan Kubota appealed to the Henan High People’s Court, but on December 29, 2018 the court upheld Kubota’s claim and dismissed the appeal, and handed down a final ruling that granted nearly all of Kubota’s demands.

Accordingly, the Henan High People’s Court ordered that Henan Kubota must change its trade name, cease infringing acts, and pay damages to Kubota.

Kubota aims to be a company that can make many important contributions to society by earning the trust of many customers. The company will continue to protect its brand and intellectual property from infringement with a resolute attitude, and work to maintain and improve its brand all over the word.

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