Vicarious Landlord Infringement Liability Upheld in China

According to Liu Mo and Cao Li writing for China Daily on April 19, 2006, the Beijing High People's Court upheld a previous ruling by Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court ordering Beijing's famed Silk Alley market near the U.S. embassy to pay 200,000 yuan (about $24,700) to each mark owner for allowing merchants to sell knock-offs on its premises. Initially, each of the five luxury goods brands (Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Burberry) had demanded compensation of 500,000 yuan (US$62,000) each.

"The ruling can still be seen as a great victory in the education of landlords," writes the IP Dragon, "and possibly an indication that the Chinese authorities will prosecute in-active landlords who are informed about trademark infringing tenants."