The Intellectual Property Court yesterday ordered AMC Language School to pay TutorABC NT$3 million (US$97,072) in damages for trademark infringement in the second round of a lawsuit between the English-language schools.
In the first ruling earlier this year, the court also ruled in favor of TutorABC and ordered AMC and other firms to pay damages totaling NT$15 million and publish a half-page apology in the nation’s major newspapers.
AMC founder Peter Hsu (胥宏達) appealed that ruling, saying that “tutor” and “ABC” are generic terms in common use, citing other nations, such as China, that do not allow the word “tutor” to be trademarked.
TutorABC in 2012 sued more than 10 English-language schools and online teaching services claiming trademark infringement on the commercial use of “tutor” and “ABC.”
The company said it had trademarked the name “TutorABC” in 2007 with the Intellectual Property Office.
“TutorABC” has become a “well-known trademark,” it said, calling the use of similar terms such as “tutor” and “ABC” by other companies commercial theft, resulting in customer confusion and financial damages in contravention of the Trademark Act (商標法) and Fair Trade Act (公平交易法).
Among those named in the lawsuit were AMC with its Tutor4U trademark and www.tutor4u.com.tw Web site; Wells English with its TutorWell name and www.tutorwell.com.tw site; and Dr MVP with its TutorMVP service.
Also named were Jeda Language Institute with its eTutor service, Edison Technology with its HiTutor brand and other companies that use “tutor” or “ABC” for English-language education services.
Hsu said that he in 2006 had trademarked “Tutor Bank” before TutorABC’s registration in 2007, and therefore it was TutorABC that infringed on AMC’s trademark.
Hsu disagreed with both rulings on the grounds that common words cannot be trademarked, citing as an example the fact that the phrase “convenience store” is used commercially by all the leading convenience store chains in Taiwan.
Last month, Hsu and 15 other companies said that TutorABC’s actions “disrupt fair trade” and attempt to monopolize the online English-teaching market, and urged the Fair Trade Commission to intervene.
Hsu also said that Alibaba Group is a main shareholder of TutorABC, and that the Ministry of Economic Affairs has determined that it is a Chinese-funded company — a claim that TutorABC rejects.
Commission Chairwoman Huang Mei-ying (黃美瑛) at that time said that she believed the case to be contentious, as she considers “tutor” to be a common word.
Yesterday’s ruling can still be appealed.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS