A small Taobao store, 18 types of infringing products, nearly 40,000 pieces of inventory, and a claim of 800,000 yuan. When the intellectual property steward of Major League Baseball (MLB) met a Chinese e-commerce seller, how did this cross-border trademark infringement case end?
When "MLB Korea Station" Met the Rightful Owner
In August 2023, a judgment from the People’s Court of Huadu District, Guangzhou City concluded this high-profile cross-border trademark infringement case.
The plaintiff was Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. (MLBP), the entity in charge of managing MLB’s intellectual property rights. The defendant, Zeng, was an e-commerce operator running a Taobao store named "MLB Korea Station".
A Targeted Taobao Store
On November 18, 2021, agents of MLBP conducted key online evidence collection under the supervision of the Huanghai Notary Public Office in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, targeting the "MLB Korea Station" store on Taobao.
The notarization results showed that the store was publicly selling 18 types of products bearing MLB-related logos, including sweatshirts, coats, trousers, and down jackets, priced from 198 yuan to 538 yuan. Logos such as "MLB" and "NY" were prominently displayed on the product pages, identical to those of genuine MLB apparel.
Shockingly, the infringing products had about 2,000 completed transactions, with a total inventory of nearly 40,000 pieces—a considerable scale of infringement.
MLB’s Trademark Guardian
Some may ask: Is MLB not a sports league? How can it sue a clothing seller?
MLBP is essentially MLB’s IP steward. Headquartered in New York, this company manages the global trademark registration and rights protection affairs of MLB and its 30 professional baseball teams. The well-known "MLB" word mark, the NY (New York Yankees) logo, and other emblems are all on its protection list.
To prove the popularity of its trademarks, the plaintiff submitted substantial evidence to the court:
-
Online popularity: Over 51.1 million search results for "MLB" on Baidu, 926,000 for "Yankees", and 1.51 million for "Dodgers".
-
Celebrity endorsement: Stars including Hyuna, JJ Lin, Roy Wang, Li Bingbing, and Wu Xuanyi have appeared in clothing with MLB trademarks.
-
High-profile collaborations: MLB has launched co-branded products with world-renowned brands such as New Era, Nike, Supreme, Gucci, Levi’s, and Disney.
-
Official channels: MLB has official promotion and sales portals on WeChat Official Accounts, Weibo, Tmall, JD.com, and other platforms.
The "MLB" brand carries significant weight among baseball fans and fashion enthusiasts.
Defendant’s Defense: "I Am Not the Actual Operator"
Facing the plaintiff’s allegations, the defendant Zeng Jingwei, born in 2000, argued: "I am not the actual operator of the store in question. I have no knowledge of the details and refuse to pay compensation."
However, the law is based on evidence.
Industrial and commercial information showed that the "MLB Korea Station" store was operated by Chibi Runqun Department Store, whose investor was Zeng himself. Although the department store was canceled before the lawsuit, the investor of a sole proprietorship enterprise is still liable for the debts incurred during the enterprise’s existence according to law.
The defendant failed to provide any evidence to prove he was "not the actual operator", so the court rejected his defense.
Court’s Findings and Judgment
The People’s Court of Huadu District, Guangzhou City made clear findings after trial:
-
MLBP is the owner of 6 registered trademarks involved in the case, all of which are valid and grant exclusive trademark rights in accordance with the law. These trademarks include "MLB", "MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL", and logos of teams such as the New York Yankees, approved for use on clothing, hats, and other goods in Class 25.
-
The logos used on the 18 types of products sold by the "MLB Korea Station" store are identical or similar to the plaintiff’s registered trademarks, which are highly likely to cause consumer confusion over the source of goods, misleading buyers into believing they are official genuine or authorized MLB products. The defendant’s sales act constituted trademark infringement.
-
As the investor of Chibi Runqun Department Store, the defendant shall be liable for the debts of the sole proprietorship enterprise in accordance with the law. His defense of "non-actual operator" was not accepted due to lack of evidence.
Finally, the court ordered the defendant to immediately stop the infringement, destroy the infringing inventory, and compensate the plaintiff 800,000 yuan for economic losses and reasonable rights protection expenses.
In determining the compensation amount, the court comprehensively considered the popularity of the trademarks involved, the sales volume of the infringing products (about 2,000 pieces sold + nearly 40,000 pieces in inventory), the product prices (198–538 yuan), the nature and subjective fault of the defendant’s infringement, and the reasonable expenses incurred by the plaintiff for rights protection (notarization fees, attorney fees, etc.).
MLB’s Series of Rights Protection Actions
This case is only a small part of MLB’s rights protection efforts in China.
Shortly after the judgment, in April 2024, the People’s Court of Yuexiu District, Guangzhou City ruled on another MLB trademark infringement case. The defendant, a firm that produced and sold infringing footwear with sales exceeding 1 million yuan, continued selling during the lawsuit. The court ordered the defendant to pay 350,000 yuan in compensation.
The judge in charge emphasized that the defendant claimed "most sales were fake transactions" but failed to provide evidence. The court took the actual sales data displayed on the online store as the reference basis.
Warning and Significance
Canceling a store is not a legal shield. Investors of sole proprietorship enterprises or operators of individual industrial and commercial households shall bear unlimited liability for the debts incurred during the enterprise’s operation in accordance with the law. The legal liability of the operator does not disappear with the cancellation of the store.
Fake transactions (brushing orders) are not a valid defense either. Courts have adopted increasingly strict standards for accepting "fake transaction defenses" in judicial practice. Without sufficient evidence to overturn the sales data displayed on the platform, such data will be directly used to determine the scale of infringement and the amount of compensation. Integrity in operation is the only long-term strategy.
