Study On Judicial Application Of Punitive Damages System For Trademark Infringement

The punitive damages system has been in place for almost nine years since it was introduced as part of trademark law in 2013.It has since been refined at the legislative level;however,the application rate remains modest,and the implementation result is not optimistic.A summary analysis of the applicable judgments after the fourth amendment of the Trademark Law reveals that there are still many factors that impede its routine application.To improve the remedial and disciplinary functions of the punitive damages system,it is necessary to explore the multidimensional dilemmas in the normative design and judicial application of the system,and to make a clearer sorting and reconstruction of the system positioning and application conditions of the punitive damages system.On the basis of trial practice,346 adjudication documents were selected as samples for inductive analysis,and four typical cases were selected for case analysis,so as to fully investigate the judicial application effect of punitive damages system in the field of trademark infringement.After summarizing and sorting out the cases,we found that the main reasons for the nominal application rate are as follows: firstly,the adjudication standard of punitive damages remains unclear,as there are ambiguities in the criteria for determining malice and the severity of the circumstances.Further,the rules for deciding the indemnity amount are flawed,because it is difficult to calculate the base compensation and there are inadequate criteria to determine compensation multiples.Moreover,the boundaries of statutory compensation and punitive compensation application are indistinct,as the former is more broadly used,overshadowing the use of the latter.Additionally,the burden of proof required from the plaintiff is excessively high,especially when taken in conjunction with the obstructive behavior of the accused.To mitigate these issues,we propose the following countermeasures: firstly,to aid court decision-making,we suggest clarifying the adjudication standard of subjective and objective elements in applicable conditions,reasonably limiting the interpretation of the connotation of malice,and rigorously considering the criteria for determining severity.Secondly,we recommend that on the issue of compensation amount,the rule of subordination of base calculation should be broken,and the principle of proportionality should be fully applied to the rule of multiplier determination.In sum,it is crucial to distinguish the relationship between punitive damages and statutory damages and it is important to delineate the compensatory function of the latter.The coordinated application of statutory damages and punitive damages should also be considered,and the courts should be transparent in disclosing the rationale behind their rulings.Finally,the standard of proof for trademark owners should be lowered,and evidence disclosure requirements and the system for preventing obstruction of evidence should be improved.