Shanghai miHoYo Network Technology Co., Ltd. sued an e-sports hotel in Chenzhou, Hunan, for trademark infringement and unfair competition, with miHoYo winning the case. The hotel was ordered to immediately cease using the relevant marks and compensate for economic losses and reasonable expenses totaling 350,000 yuan.

The case emerged from a routine market inspection by miHoYo. The Chenzhou-based e-sports hotel directly used the exact same name and logo as Genshin Impact in prominent locations such as outdoor signboards, room cards, and pillows in guest rooms. It also promoted itself as "Genshin Impact E-Sports Hotel" on multiple online travel platforms and its official WeChat account, easily misleading the public into believing it had an authorized or cooperative relationship with the game’s official side.

However, the hotel had no actual business cooperation with miHoYo. After miHoYo filed a lawsuit demanding an end to the infringement, the hotel’s actions became even more deliberate.

It is understood that the hotel did not rectify immediately upon receiving the litigation notice. Instead, it continued to promote itself under "Genshin Impact E-Sports Hotel" on online platforms during the lawsuit. More notably, the hotel subsequently renamed itself "Yuansen E-Sports Hotel".

The Shanghai Intellectual Property Court accepted the case and ruled after trial that "Yuansen" is highly similar to "Genshin Impact" in both character form and pronunciation. The hotel’s subjective intent to ride on the reputation of the well-known brand and confuse the public was obvious.

The court clearly stated in the judgment that through long-term and extensive promotion and operation, the "Genshin Impact" trademark has become well-known to the public in the game and related fields, and has been legally recognized as a well-known trademark.

The e-sports services provided by the defendant hotel are relevant to the service categories approved for the "Genshin Impact" trademark. Its act of directly using the mark and later adopting a similar name is sufficient to cause consumers to mistakenly believe it has a specific connection with miHoYo, constituting both trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of the principle of good faith.

After the first-instance judgment, the defendant hotel appealed.

Following the second-instance trial, the Shanghai Higher People’s Court upheld the original judgment, finding the facts clearly established and the application of law correct. This final judgment has now officially entered into force.

With the growing influence of cultural and creative IP such as games and animations, some businesses frequently attempt to "free-ride" on well-known brands for marketing purposes.

In this case, judicial authorities not only confirmed the well-known trademark status of "Genshin Impact" but also made a negative assessment of the continuous and disguised infringement during the lawsuit, ordering corresponding compensation and clearly delineating the boundary between legitimate operation and infringement.