Mark E. Schaub

internet - Using Baidu's name in Europe

I was last night reading Mark Schaub's book, China: the art of law, when I recalled this little incident of a Dutch company using China's premier search engine's name Baidu in Europe to attract more traffic. The general manager in Holland says he has looked into the legal aspects of it and there is no problem.
The reversed has happened of course more often, Chinese companies trying to steal international brand names and this is what Schaub writes about that on page 316:

It is true that the PRC as a member of the Paris Convention does grant trademark protection to "well-known" trademarks even if these trademarks are not registered...

Then he spells out the limitations for legal action in China:

To do so it must generally prove that the trademark:

• enjoys a leading market position in the country of orgin;
• has substantial name recognition internationall; and
• has achieved a substantial degree of fame within the PRC.

When Baidu China decides to take legal action, it seems that they have a fair chance of winning.