Does copying an app name constitute trademark infringement?

The 10 bright spots in internet development in China during the 12th Five-Year Plan published by the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) at the end of October 2015 reveal there were 594 million mobile netizens in China, an increase of 86.8% compared to the same period the previous year, and 20.5% more of them used mobile phones to go online than those using computers. Mobile phone application software (apps) has seen explosive growth, with major app stores exceeding 4 million and a greater number of netizens opting to use news, search, social networking, consumer, ticket booking, entertainment and other such apps on their handsets.

Giving apps a memorable name is definitely an effective means of increasing downloads, with app-related trademark conflicts increasing accordingly.

The Weixin trademark dispute has been one such dispute. It arose after a company applied to register the trademark “Weixin”, in Class 38 of the Classification of Similar Goods and Services, before Tencent’s release of its “Weixin” (i.e. WeChat) instant messaging app. The “Didi Dache” trademark dispute is likewise directly related to the online smart ride hailing system called “Didi Dache”, developed by the defendant.