Royal Salute 3D marks granted judicial protection for the first time

In a recent case before the Wuhan Intermediate Court, whisky producer Chivas has successfully demonstrated that consumers perceive the Royal Salute bottle as a trademark and are able to distinguish Royal Salute products from others by the shape of the bottle alone. Among other things, the court found that the defendant’s Elysee 21 YO product was identical to the plaintiff’s 3D marks from a visual point of view.