For business travelers, "JI Hotel" evokes the image of log-colored signboards at high-speed rail station exits, white tea aromas, and the warm glow of zero-pressure rooms. Over 14 years, Hanting Star (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. has built JI Hotel into a national mid-range hotel brand with over 1,000 locations and hundreds of millions in promotion costs, welcoming more than 30 million guests annually. In 2024, a homestay halfway up a mountain in a scenic area quietly displayed "JI Hotel" on its signboard. Its listings on Ctrip and Meituan were updated to "JI Homestay," with room rates raised from 300 yuan to 500 yuan. Believing it to be a resort line under JI Hotel, consumers left complaints about "poor hygiene" and "bad sound insulation" for the genuine brand. A typical case of trademark squatting was subsequently filed with the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court.
Notarized video evidence shows that:
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The homestay’s sign features a white background with a log frame, and the LED-displayed "JI Homestay" uses exactly the same font, character height, and spacing as the genuine brand;
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The lobby’s backdrop wall is painted in Pantone 7534C grayish brown, paired with 5-degree inclined hollow grids;
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Items such as room card holders, slippers, and toiletries kits all bear the "JI" text and graphic logo, differing from the registered trademark No. 12688181 only by the absence of the word "Hotel";
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On Ctrip, the listing uses keywords including "JI," "business," and "minimalist," with a photo of the signboard as the main image;
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Of 42 comments in the review section, users mentioned remarks such as "thought it was a subsidiary of JI Hotel" and "can I earn points here," resulting in a consumer confusion rate of 31%.
According to Article 57 (2) of the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China: Using a trademark similar to a registered trademark on the same or similar goods, which is likely to cause confusion, constitutes an act of trademark infringement. By replacing "Hotel" with "Homestay," the defendant still provides accommodation services. With identical overall visual identity, brand name, and promotional strategies, its actions fall squarely within the prohibited scope.
Brand reputation is not free traffic, but a high-cost asset:
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Huazhu Group, in collaboration with Nielsen and McKinsey, has conducted annual market research for three consecutive years, with a single-year research investment of 22 million yuan in 2019 alone;
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The brand’s design, created by Kenya Hara’s team, includes registered trademarks for logo grayscale, wood grain texture, and the top and base notes of its signature fragrance, with iterative design costs exceeding 100 million yuan;
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Huazhu Club boasts 170 million members with a 47% repurchase rate, and JI Hotel contributes 19.8 billion yuan in GMV (Gross Merchandise Value);
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In terms of service standards: linens are washed at 48°C, formaldehyde levels are kept ≤ 0.03mg/m³, and coffee is made from 100% Arabica beans. Any item failing random inspections is immediately removed from service.
Consumers are willing to pay a 30% premium for a standardized sleep solution. The defendant’s "zero-cost" hijacking of the brand not only directly dilutes its reputation but also increases consumers’ search costs. This constitutes an unfair competition act of "unauthorized use of another party’s influential identifiers" as prohibited by Article 6 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China.
How to Calculate Compensation?
Article 63 of the Trademark Law provides four calculation methods: actual losses suffered by the plaintiff, profits gained by the infringer, a multiple of the trademark licensing fee, and statutory compensation (with a maximum limit of 5 million yuan). The plaintiff adopted a combined approach of "infringer’s profits + brand reputation impairment":
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Ctrip data shows: 18,000 room nights sold in one year, with an average price of 450 yuan, generating a turnover of 8.1 million yuan and a net profit margin of 25%, resulting in approximate profits of 2.025 million yuan;
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A report by Horizon Insights indicates that the NPS (Net Promoter Score) of the JI Hotel brand in the infringing region dropped by 3.7%, equivalent to a potential loss of approximately 8 million yuan.
The plaintiff’s claims include: cessation of infringement, change of business name, a 30-day public apology on the homepages of Meituan and Ctrip, and compensation of 3 million yuan plus 150,000 yuan for reasonable litigation expenses. The case has been transferred to the Shanghai Pudong Court, with a verdict expected in the first quarter of 2025.
Five Tips for Small and Medium-Sized Homestays to Avoid Trademark Pitfalls
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Before choosing a name, conduct a free search on the official website of the Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Office for registered trademarks in Class 43 (Accommodation Services) and Class 35 (Advertising and Marketing Services);
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Avoid using homophones, missing strokes, or adding place names to engage in edge-ball practices. Courts determine trademark similarity based on the overall impression of sound, form, and meaning, rather than partial differences;
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If your decoration style is an original design, apply for an appearance patent or copyright registration simultaneously. Original design incurs high costs, but plagiarism carries even greater consequences;
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When publishing information on OTA (Online Travel Agency) platforms, refrain from using others’ trademarks as keywords. Platforms’ "Red Shield" systems will remove non-compliant content within 48 hours and deduct security deposits;
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Join formal brand franchises. Taking JI Hotel as an example, an investment of 120,000 yuan per room plus a 6% revenue royalty allows access to 170 million member traffic, which is far safer than unauthorized use of trademarks.
A Word for Consumers
If you see a listing for "JI XX Homestay", check the business license. If the entity is not "Hanting Star (Shanghai) Hotel Management Co., Ltd.", you can report it as counterfeit with one click, and the platform is required to handle the case within 48 hours. Every time you insist on authenticity, you are paying for innovation and voting for integrity.
Conclusion
Intellectual property is not a luxury, but a "safety belt". Let us not allow well-known trademarks like "JI Hotel" to become abused public vocabulary, nor let your creativity become a platform for others to free-ride. Respecting trademarks is respecting innovation itself.
