"Nanmen" Isn’t a Shield: Hot Pot Brand’s Trademark Alert
2026-02-03 | 发布于：赛立信市场研究
On the day the "customer brings dog into hot pot restaurant" incident went viral, Mr. Wang, general manager of Beijing Hongyuan Nanmen Hot Pot, was busy sending statements to various media outlets:
"The involved store is not ours! We have only 21 stores nationwide, 9 in Beijing. We never offer franchising and prohibit pets from entering."
These 18 simple words poured cold water on the gray business of "leeching off place names," exposing its true nature.
01 One Weibo Post Exposes Over 50 "Nanmen" Counterfeits
In the viral video, a small dog sniffs around the table, with the four big characters "Nanmen Hot Pot" in the background. Netizens angrily criticized the "poor hygiene," and over 30,000 complaints flooded the official Weibo account of Hongyuan Nanmen.
The operation team traced the source overnight:
The store sign font was 1:1 copied;
The menu cover was directly stolen;
Even the plating angle of "hand-sliced fresh lamb" was identical.
The only difference – the business license read "XX Nanmen Hot Pot Co., Ltd.," with no matching legal person, address, or phone number.
What’s more absurd: a search for "Nanmen Hot Pot" on Amap showed 53 red dots in Beijing, 44 of which had no authorization at all.
"We can’t sue them all," sighed Xiao Zhao from the legal department. "We just shut down one ‘Nan 冂 (jiōng) Hot Pot’ (冂 is a rare character extremely similar to 门 /men) last week, and this week another ‘南門 (Nánmén) Hot Pot’ (traditional Chinese for 南门) popped up."
02 Why Dare They Be So Brazen?
The answer lies in Article 10 of the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China:
"Place names of administrative divisions at or above the county level shall not be used as trademarks."
Founded in 1994, Hongyuan was originally located "south of the Temple of Heaven." For convenience, locals referred to it as "that hot pot restaurant at Nanmen."
In 2006, the company first applied for the "Nanmen Hot Pot" trademark, but it was rejected by the Trademark Office on the grounds that "Nanmen is a place name and lacks distinctiveness."
In 2012, the company settled for registering "Hongyuan Nanmen Hot Pot" plus a graphic logo, barely obtaining a "protective amulet."
This means –
As long as counterfeit stores do not fully copy the word "Hongyuan," it is difficult to completely shut them down.
As a result, a large number of "XX Nanmen Hot Pot," "Nanmen X Hot Pot," and "Old Nanmen Copper Pot" appeared on the market...
Rights protection? First, a 6-month administrative opposition, then a 12-month civil infringement lawsuit. The other party cancels the company the day after receiving the summons and reopens under a new sign with the same team the next day.
With a cost of 20,000 yuan and a profit of 2 million yuan, counterfeiters have calculated this account better than anyone else.
03 How Did the Court Rule? The Key Lies in "Secondary Meaning"
In 2021, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court heard an almost identical case:
"Xisi Steamed Bun Shop" sued "Xisi Ye Steamed Bun Shop."
The court ultimately ruled:
① Although "Xisi" is a place name, the plaintiff’s continuous use for 30 years has enabled consumers to establish a unique association between "Xisi Steamed Buns" and the specific operator;
② The defendant’s addition of the character "Ye" still constitutes free-riding on goodwill and unfair competition;
③ Compensation of 800,000 yuan was ordered, along with a change of the enterprise name.
The judgment clearly stated for the first time:
"Where a place-name trademark has acquired secondary meaning through long-term use, it shall be protected to a degree commensurate with its popularity."
This judgment was printed on A4 paper by Hongyuan Nanmen’s legal department and posted all over the office.
"We know we can win, but the burden of proof is really heavy," Xiao Zhao showed a spreadsheet to the reporter –
Screenshots of 86,000 reviews on Dazhong Dianping from 1999 to 2023;
Appearance records on CCTV’s A Bite of China;
Group photos of public figures such as Lang Ping and Wu Jing visiting the restaurant;
Tax certificates from 2003 to 2023;
Records of malicious low ratings on food delivery platforms by counterfeit stores...
A total of 3.7 gigabytes, burned onto 12 CDs. "This is just the evidence package for one counterfeit store."
04 Online Platforms Have Become New Breeding Grounds for High-Quality Counterfeits
Entering "Nanmen Hot Pot" on a food delivery app, the top result was actually "XX Nanmen Hot Pot (Huilongguan Store)":
Monthly sales of 9,999+;
Logo directly filtered the old photo of Hongyuan into black and white;
Address listed as "Huilongguan West Street," where Hongyuan has no official store at all.
What materials are required for platform review?
The customer service replied: "Business license + food operation license + storefront photo are sufficient; trademark certificate is not mandatory."
In other words, as long as the store sign does not include "Hongyuan," the platform defaults to "reasonable use of place name."
By the time the genuine brand discovers it and goes through the complaint channel, it needs to submit:
Trademark registration certificate, authorization letter, infringement comparison chart, lawyer’s letter... Within 7×24 hours, the counterfeit store has already made a fortune.
What’s more bizarre: after being taken down by the platform, the store rebrands and goes online again, and the algorithm even inherits the ratings and reviews of the "old store."
"We are not fighting infringement; we are playing whack-a-mole," Mr. Wang said helplessly.
05 How Expensive Is Defensive Registration?
Hongyuan Nanmen calculated an account for the reporter:
Full-class registration of "Hongyuan Nanmen Hot Pot" across 45 categories: official fee of about 45,000 yuan;
Pre-registering "Nanmen Hot Pot," "南門 Hot Pot," "nanmenshuarou" in Chinese, English, graphics, and combinations: 120 trademarks required, with an official fee of 120,000 yuan;
30% service fee if hiring an agency;
Renewal every 10 years, plus address changes, transfers, opposition responses...
It sounds like millions, but compared to 500,000 yuan for a single lawsuit and 5 million yuan in losses from a public opinion crisis, this money is actually a "fuse."
"We have supplemented the registration of more than 80 trademarks in 2022," Mr. Wang said. "But we were one step too late. Rare characters like ‘冂，’ ‘鬥，’ and ‘鬩’ have been squatted as ‘font traps.’ We can only shut them down one by one."
06 Consumers Can Also Be "Anti-Counterfeiting Partners"
Hongyuan Nanmen recently launched a mini-program:
Enter a location to automatically display "nearest authorized stores";
One-click verification of storefront authenticity;
Take photos to report counterfeit stores, and receive a 100-yuan dining voucher after legal verification.
Within 30 days of launch, it received more than 2,000 clues, successfully shutting down 18 infringing stores.
"The most touching thing was a 70-year-old Beijing local who rode his bicycle to photograph all the ‘Nanmen’ stores in Tongzhou, Shunyi, and Changping, and sent them as a PPT to our email," Mr. Wang opened his phone. The old man wrote in the email:
"I watched Nanmen Hot Pot grow up; I can’t let bad people ruin its reputation."
07 Integrity Is the Hardest "Copper Pot" in Business
At the end of the interview, two lawyers said something worth copying 100 times by all caterers:
"Place names themselves are not sinful. They are like a copper pot – some people use it to simmer century-old broth, while others use it for a quick meal and run away.
The law can provide a safety net, but the real moat lies in:
Genuine materials, no skimping on weight;
Clear pricing, no deceptive menus;
Full payment of employee social security;
24-hour response to customer complaints.
When all these are done, even if others copy your sign to perfection, consumers will taste it and know:
‘Hmm, this one isn’t authentic.’"
08 To Aspiring Entrepreneurs – A Four-Step Self-Check List
① Before project approval: Conduct a "blind search" on the China Trademark Office to check for identical, similar trademarks and place name implications;
② Before renovation: Apply for "copyright registration" for storefront signs, menus, and food delivery images. Certification takes 45 days, costing 800 yuan – 10 times cheaper than a post-event lawyer’s letter;
③ Before opening: Register official WeChat public account, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu accounts, and seize the "brand name + place name" combination immediately to prevent counterfeiters from stealing followers;
④ Before becoming popular: Purchase "intellectual property liability insurance" for core trademarks. Premiums start at 10,000 yuan, with a maximum compensation of 5 million yuan, covering legal fees, attorney fees, and investigation costs.
Remember:
"Place names can be shared, but goodwill must be privately owned."
[Conclusion]
Hongyuan Nanmen Hot Pot’s slogan has only eight characters:
"Uphold Integrity, Innovate Wisely – One Pot for a Century."
"Uphold Integrity" comes before "Innovate Wisely," meaning –
Survive first, then talk about sentiment;
Secure trademarks first, then talk about going global;
Be worthy of customers first, then talk about valuation.
Next time you walk into a "Nanmen" hot pot restaurant, take a look at the bottom right corner of the storefront sign for the small "®" symbol;
If it’s there, feel free to drop the lamb into the pot –
That is the most reliable "anti-counterfeiting mark" that the law gives to honest enterprises and consumers alike.
