外星人(Alien) vs火星人(Martian) Electrolyte Water Case Results in CNY 2 Million Compensation
Recently, the Jiangsu High Court issued a second-instance judgment regarding the trademark infringement and unfair competition case between Yuanqisenli’s “外星人Alien” electrolyte water and Xizhimiao’s “火星人Martian” electrolyte water, upholding the Wuxi Intermediate Court’s decision that trademark infringement and unfair competition is constituted and compensation of CNY 2 million shall be paid.
The court held that the sign of “火星人Martian” electrolyte water that prominently used on the accused infringing products was similar to that of “外星人Alien Electrolyte Water” used by Yuanqisenli. This objectively could easily lead the relevant public to confuse or misidentify the source of the goods. Comments from consumers on e-commerce platforms had also directly confirmed that the accused infringing products caused confusion and mistaken purchases of Yuanqisenli’s product. Therefore, the accused infringing products also constituted an infringement of Yuanqisenli’s registered trademark No. 49290733 “外星人” (Alien).
Regarding packaging and decoration with certain influence, the court determined that since Yuanqisenli began selling the “外星人” (Alien) brand in June 2020, it had conducted extensive advertising and promotions, including hiring celebrity endorsements and sponsoring events. The “外星人Alien Electrolyte Water” had received multiple awards and honors, and articles published by various media outlets showed that “外星人Alien Electrolyte Water” held a relatively high market share in the electrolyte beverage industry. This series of evidence was sufficient to prove that the packaging and decoration of the “外星人Alien Electrolyte Water” product had a certain influence.
Consequently, the Jiangsu High Court rendered the above judgment. (Febr. 5, 2026, IPcode)
Cases
Unitree Robotics Countersues for “Malicious Litigation” Case
The Hangzhou Intermediate Court recently issued a judgment in a patent dispute case, ruling that the lawsuit filed by Luweimei Company against Unitree Robotics constituted malicious litigation and required compensation for the other party’s legal fees. This case drew widespread attention as it involved a technology innovation enterprise during a critical period of its IPO.
Background: In July 2025, Luweimei Company sued another product from Unitree Robotics during its IPO tutoring period, claiming patent infringement. The amount of compensation claimed was “unreasonable” and they applied for on-site investigations, among other things. Previously, Luweimei had sued Unitree, alleging another of its product using the same patent, but the case had been dismissed by the court.
Judgment: On February 4, 2026, the Hangzhou Intermediate Court ruled that Unitree Robotics’ product did not constitute infringement; Luweimei Company was found to have engaged in malicious litigation and was ordered to fully compensate Unitree Robotics for its legal fees.
The Court Finds:
1. The plaintiff had a “history” of abusing litigation rights: Luweimei Company and its related parties had filed over 20 patent lawsuits, with claimed amounts ranging from CNY 1 to 10 billion (the latter was withdrawn due to unpaid fees), none of which were successful.
2. The actions had improper purposes: Despite previous experience with losing cases, the plaintiff chose to sue again during the critical IPO period of the competitor, using the same patent and an unreasonably high compensation claim, and applied for investigative preservation, intending to disrupt its normal operations.
3. Violation of the principle of good faith: Their actions deviated from the institutional spirit of intellectual property protection and constituted an abuse of rights. (Mar. 2, 2026, IPcode)
Statistics
Supreme People’s Procuratorate: Punish Crimes Such as Infringing Trade Secrets and Copyrights According to Law
Recently, information released by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate showed that from January to November 2025, national procuratorial organs handled a total of 22,026 cases, including intellectual property criminal prosecution of 18,803 cases, civil supervision of 1,165 cases, administrative supervision of 1,516 cases, and public interest litigation of 542 cases.
From January to November 2025, national procuratorial organs accepted for review and prosecution 103 cases (involving 232 individuals) of trade secret infringement, and prosecuted 143 individuals. Among these, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate guided the Shanghai procuratorial organs in handling the Zunpai case involving infringement of Huawei HiSilicon’s chip technology trade secrets, which concerned domestic chip technology and involved an amount of 317 million yuan. The Shanghai procuratorial organs initiated public prosecution for the crime of infringing trade secrets, and all 14 defendants were sentenced to criminal penalties.
Simultaneously, procuratorial organs severely cracked down on commercial espionage crimes according to law. In the defendant Zhang’s case, who was prosecuted for illegally providing trade secrets to overseas entities, guided by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and handled by Zhejiang procuratorial organs, the defendant Zhang was an employee of a prominent domestic semiconductor company. After leaving the company, he violated confidentiality agreements and accepted commissions from overseas organizations and illegally disclosed the former company’s trade secrets. Following public prosecution by the procuratorial organs, he was sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment and fined.
In terms of comprehensive judicial protection of copyrights, procuratorial organs continuously strengthened protection efforts focusing on areas where infringement is common and frequent, such as educational supplementary books and film and television works, as well as digital works and cultural and creative products like computer software, online games, and cultural and creative merchandise. From January to November 2025, national procuratorial organs handled a total of 1,434 copyright-related cases of various types and prosecuted 1,795 individuals in 915 criminal cases of copyright infringement.
According to statistics, from January to November 2025, procuratorial organs prosecuted 64 criminal cases involving infringement of intellectual property rights related to cultural and creative products, including 20 cases involving “Nezha” and 13 cases involving “Pop Mart”. (Feb. 24, 2026, Xinhuanet.com)
China Leads Globally in International Patent and Industrial Design Applications in 2025
Data recently released by the China Office of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) showed that in 2025, China filed 73,718 international patent applications via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and 5,911 international industrial design applications via the Hague System, ranking first globally in both.
Regarding the international patent system, the total number of international patent applications filed via the PCT in 2025 reached 275,900, a growth of 0.7% compared to 2024, maintaining a growth trend for two consecutive years.
Among them, China ranked first with 73,718 applications, an increase of 5.3%. Followed by the United States (52,617 applications), Japan (47,922 applications), South Korea (25,016 applications), and Germany (16,441 applications).
Huawei Technologies topped the list of applicants by holding 7,523 published applications, maintaining its top position since 2017. Among the top 100 applicant institutions, Japan, China, and the United States had 32, 24, and 17 institutions, respectively. In the education sector, the University of California, USA, retained its top spot in 2025 with 488 published PCT applications, while Tsinghua University ranked second with 227 applications.
Regarding the international industrial design system, in 2025, applications filed under WIPO’s Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs grew by 9.4%, and the number of designs contained in applications grew by 5.2%, reaching a record high of 28,588 designs, reflecting the fifth consecutive year of expansion for the system.
Among these, China ranked first among applicants with 5,911 industrial design applications, an increase of 21.4%. Germany (4,530 designs), the United States (3,882 designs), Switzerland (2,285 designs), and Italy (2,015 designs) ranked second to fifth, respectively. (Mar. 7, 2026, Chinanews.com)
