Attorney Zhiheng represented the case of suspected counterfeiting of registered trademarks

Recently, Liu Zhongjian, deputy director of the board of supervisors and senior partner of equity of

, represented E in a case of suspected counterfeiting of registered trademarks. After defense, the suspect E was granted a decision not to prosecute by the procuratorate of a certain district in a certain city.

E was criminally detained on March 13, 2024 on suspicion of counterfeiting a registered trademark; he was arrested on April 20, 2024. After the investigation of the branch was completed, the procuratorate transferred the prosecution on June 3, 2024.

In the "Prosecution Opinion", the investigation authority believes that between October 2022 and March 2024, the boss A recruited four people, including B, C, D, and E, to assemble and sell counterfeit Tissot brand watches, and rented two suites in different buildings in the F community and three houses in the distant G house as a workplace.

The total number of counterfeit Tissot watches sold by the gang is 4,019, and the total sales price is 1917,190 yuan. On March 12, 2024, the public security organs arrested BCDE (A is at large) at the above three locations and seized a batch of products bearing the registered trademark of TISSOT.

After identification, the product with the exclusive right to use the TISSOT registered trademark was not a real Tissot product, and the sales value was 915,850 yuan. The bureau believed that the above four were suspected of counterfeiting registered trademarks, and the evidence was conclusive and sufficient to determine that the case was transferred to the procuratorate for review and prosecution according to law.

Defence counsel, after many interviews and marking, found and insisted that because E did not know that the mobile phone accessories were counterfeit registered trademark goods, did not know that Boss A organized the production and sales of counterfeit registered trademark goods, and did not use the trademark that had been infringed (the crime in Article 213 describes his objective behavior as "use"), so E's behavior does not constitute a crime, even if it is conservatively presumed by the procuratorate to know that although the amount involved in this case is more than two million yuan, E's illegal income, that is, wages (his wife's part should be screened and excluded), just exceeded the standard amount of incrimination, combined with other circumstances, belongs to the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" Article 37 provides that the circumstances of the crime are minor, no penalty is required, and criminal punishment can be exempted, which also meets one of the circumstances of non-prosecution.

Regarding whether he knew, because knowing is an important boundary between crime and non-crime in this case. The defense pointed out that the boss A in this case was responsible for the procurement of watch accessories, machine head assembly, strap assembly, marketing (WeChat and other new media), and mailing and delivery of each production and sales link by the above four different people.

And, ABCD works in the same suite, while E is in a different place, that is, E's production site is a separate suite workshop, only he and his wife, the work content is only to assemble the table head, E and his wife's food, housing and work are all here (boss A leases, designated workshop).

The way E receives compensation is piece by piece, more work, no shares, any dividends. Explain that for E, the promotion and marketing of the products involved, the purchase of accessories, the matching of straps, the price of finished products (including the price of accessories), logistics and mailing, other people's working locations and division of labor, and information about the handlers are completely disconnected from him, without knowledge) (E is like in an "isolated island").

Through the dossier and E's WeChat chat records, it is impossible to find out that E knew that the products involved were counterfeit registered trademarks. Finally, as a front-line worker, he has no obligation, necessity or ability to explore or doubt the authenticity of the accessories, which is in line with common sense. Therefore, there is no evidence to prove his subjective knowledge in this case, nor does it meet the presumption of knowledge by the Supreme Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate in the Interpretation of Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement (2004).

During the review of the prosecution, after many professional opinions between the defender and the prosecutor, the procuratorate finally adopted the defender's defense opinion on not prosecuting E and decided not to prosecute E.

Lawyer Profile

Lawyer Liu Zhongjian

Senior Equity Partner of

Deputy Director of the Supervisory Committee of Zhiheng Headquarters

Senior Advisor of Zhiheng Criminal Center

Chief Lawyer of Zhongjian Criminal Defense Team

Graduate student of Renmin University of China, currently a member of the Financial Crime Defense Legal Professional Committee of the Shenzhen Law Association, an arbitrator, a part-time lecturer at many law schools, a rotating volunteer lawyer appointed by the Supreme Court, a legislative expert invited by the Standing Committee of the Kunming Municipal People's Congress, a special mediator of the People's Court of Pingshan District, Shenzhen, a young lawyer tutor (criminal direction) in Futian District, Shenzhen, a lecturer of the "Seventh Five-Year" Law Popularization Lecturer Group of the Pingshan District Judicial Bureau, a representative of the 11th Lawyers Congress in Shenzhen, and the director of the Youth Industry Center of the Shenzhen Futian Law Working Committee.

He used to serve as the deputy secretary of the prefecture-level Youth League Committee and other positions, and has practiced in Shenzhen for 15 years. He has won the honorary titles of prefecture-level "Excellent League Cadre", "Excellent CPPCC Proposal", "Excellent Member (Deputy Director of the Youth Industry Committee of the 10th Shenzhen Lawyers Association) " and "One of the Ten Excellent Criminal Defense Cases in Futian District, Shenzhen in 2023".

• Main attack:Criminal defense and criminal compliance non-prosecution, especially the defense and research of economic and financial crimes.

• Handled dozens of defense effect cases such as non-approval of arrest (absolute), dismissal, non-prosecution, probation, light sentence, second-instance commutation, and innocence (representative cases are attached); served as a criminal legal consultant for a public security bureau, central enterprises, and many other criminal legal counsel.

• Published articles such as "The Essentials and Practical Application of the Criminal Law Amendment (Twelve) " "A Preliminary Study on the Resolution of Real Estate Financial Risks from a Criminal Perspective" "Skills of Not Innocent Defense in Sexual Cases (1) to (6) " "Private Entrepreneurs (Executives) Criminal Risk and Prevention".

• Case handling philosophy:"Uphold the truth for the light" and practice substantive defense.

• Contact information:13823747959 (same as WeChat). 22nd Floor, Radio and Television Financial Center, Futian District, Shenzhen

Attachments to some representative cases:

The Provincial High Court's second-instance is a "quasi-innocent" case: [ (2023) Gui Xing Zhan No. 132] (downgraded and sentenced to probation);

City Intermediate Court second-instance Case [ (2016) Guangdong 03 Criminal End No. 170];

After the trial, the court intends to make a not guilty verdict, suggesting that the procuratorate withdraw the case [ (2013) Shenbao Falong Xing Chu Zi No. 520];

Prosecutors' non-prosecution cases [Shenping Inspection Criminal Non-prosecution (2022) No. 55], [Shenbao Inspection Criminal Non-prosecution (2015) No. 484]; Huiyang Inspection Criminal Non-prosecution (2024) No. 140;

The Public Security Bureau lifted the bail and did not transfer it to the procuratorate for non-prosecution [Donggong Jiebao Zi (2022) No. 314293], [Shenbao Gong (Shangnan) Jiebao Zi (2022) No. 34442];

Absolutely not approve the arrest and release case [Shenping Gong (Maluan) Shi Zi (2021) No. 33373];

Probation case [ (2021) Guangdong 0310 Xingchu No. 154];

Case of misdemeanor and light sentence [Originally prosecuted by the public security for fund-raising fraud, it was later changed to a non-smoking misdemeanor by the judgment on No. 417 of (2022) Guangdong 0304 Xingchu, and the amount involved was reduced by half]

The 2022 "8.03 crime of defrauding entry and exit documents" supervised by the Ministry of Public Security

A certain iron bureau major responsibility accident crime enterprise criminal compliance after non-prosecution, etc