The line "My name is Wang Mudu, and my wife's name is Li Yaomei" may be familiar to friends in Shaanxi. This is a classic line from the protagonist Wang Mudu in the drama "Wang Mudu Theater". But currently, there is a trademark dispute involving Wang Mudu’s copyright issue, and the two parties have launched a fierce debate:

Performer Shi Guoqing: Infringed on my image copyright and name rights; "Wang Mudu" has become my stage name and symbol, and has been widely publicized

Trademark registrant: His wife's surname is "Wang", and her neighbors called her "Wang Mudu" when she was a child; "Wang Mudu" is not a performance The special title for the character played by the actor

Both parties hold different opinions, and on the surface they both seem to be very reasonable. This makes people wonder: Who does the "Wang Mudu" trademark belong to?

gt;gt;Trademark registrant: The "Wang Mudu" trademark has been registered for more than two years

The "Wang Mudu" trademark was registered as a trademark in May 2015. The trademark registration certificate shows that the approved goods and services include accommodation, banquet preparation, cafeterias, restaurants, hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, fast food restaurants, mobile catering supplies, and nursing homes. The trademark registrant is a Mr. Liu. The registered address is Keji Road, Yanta District.

But Mr. Liu registered the trademark "Wang Mudu", which aroused Shi Guoqing's dissatisfaction. Because "Wang Mudu" is a character in "Wang Mudu Theater", Shi Guoqing is the actor of "Wang Mudu" in the play. Now that "Wang Mudu" has been registered as a trademark, Shi Guoqing believes that this is a trademark infringement and should be revoked.

Shi Guoqing put forward four reasons in his application for invalidation of the registered trademark, believing that the disputed trademark "Wang Mudu" infringed on his image copyright and name rights and should be revoked and declared invalid.

1. The representative significance of "Wang Mudu" is inviolable

Shi Guoqing believes that he was born in Sichuan and lived in Shaanxi, allowing him to absorb the essence of the two regional cultures. Wang Mudu and Li Yaomei were created, two characters with distinctive characteristics of Shaanxi and Sichuan. He is the founder of Shaanxi one-man show and the creator of Wang Mudu's character image. Wang Mudu is his stage name. This name has high brand awareness and influence and has almost become the representative of his image.

2. Infringement of his prior character image copyright

In addition, Shi Guoqing also believes that he is the copyright holder of the "Wang Mudu" series of works, and that as early as the disputed trademark " Before the application for "Wang Mudu", he had published and performed the "Wang Mudu" series of works to the outside world, and owned the prior copyright. The disputed trademark was plagiarism and imitation of the prior copyright, and infringed on his prior copyright of the character image.

3. Infringement of his right to name

Shi Guoqing said that "Wang Mudu" is his stage name, he enjoys Wang Mudu's right to name, and the disputed trademark infringes upon his name rights, causing damage to his reputation. When creating and performing "Wang Mudu", he performed in the first person "My name is Wang Mudu". "Wang Mudu" is not only his copyrighted work, but also has a growing reputation. His real name is Shi Guoqing. People forget about him and everyone calls him "Wang Mudu". He also calls himself "Wang Mudu" and is proud of it. "Wang Mudu" has become his stage name and symbol and has been widely publicized.

4. The trademark registrant has obvious subjective malice

Shi Guoqing believes that Mr. Liu, the registrant of the "Wang Mudu" trademark, is in Xi'an with him, knowing that Wang Mudu is his The creative works and stage names are highly original and are still applied for registration as trademarks. There is subjective malice of plagiarism and infringement of their prior rights, which violates the principle of good faith and should be revoked.

How will the trademark registrant react to Mr. Shi’s views?

Regarding the objection raised by Shi Guoqing, the attorney and senior partner appointed by the trademark registrant Mr. Liu believe that "Mudu" is a common dialect of Shaanxi people, meaning "child", and it is also a common word for Shaanxi people. The names used are not specific to the character played by Shi Guoqing. The reason why Mr. Liu registered the trademark "Wang Mudu" was because his wife's surname was "Wang" and his neighbors called him "Mudu" when he was a child, so he registered the trademark "Wang Mudu", never considering that Shi Guoqing had acted in A character who passed by was called Wang Mudu.

In addition, Zhao Liangshan said that "Wang Mudu" is just the name of the character played by Shi Guoqing in the show, not his stage name. If the character name "Wang Mudu" is identified as Shi Guoqing's stage name, are all the roles he played such as "Li Yaomei", "Wang Baoshun" in "Into the Bali Fort", and "The Punisher of the Song Dynasty"? Can "Tong Fei" and others be identified as Shi Guoqing's stage name?

In addition, Shi Guoqing has never used "Wang Mudu" as his stage name. He has always called himself "Shi Guoqing" and introduced himself as "Shi Guoqing, founder of Shaanxi one-man show, who plays Wang "Mudu and other artistic images", and has never claimed the stage name "Wang Mudu". The stage name refers to the name that is publicly announced and used in real life. For example, the stage name of "Chen Gangsheng" is "Jackie Chan". He calls himself "Jackie Chan" on various occasions, including signing his signature as "Jackie Chan".

Zhao Liangshan also stated that the character name "Wang Mudu" cannot constitute a work alone and does not enjoy copyright. Shaanxi one-man opera itself enjoys copyright, but the character name "Wang Mudu" is a simple combination of words and cannot express certain ideological content, so it does not enjoy copyright.

Article 3 of the Copyright Law also stipulates: “The works referred to in this Law include works of literature, art, natural science, social science, engineering technology, etc. created in the following forms: (3) Music, drama, folk art, dance, acrobatic art works”, the object of copyright protection is the work, and the names of the characters in the work do not enjoy copyright. Moreover, the trademark "Wang Mudu" registered by Mr. Liu applies to the catering industry and does not involve the plot structure, character characteristics, classic lines, etc. of Shi Guoqing's role in the Shaanxi one-man show. There is no connection between the two.

Currently, this trademark dispute has entered the review stage before the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.