Three Statements of Sichuan Condiment Association on the "Green Pepper Incident"

"Green pepper Event " in the relevant parties concerned "green pepper incident," the general public:

 

　　Regarding a Shanghai company suing dozens of restaurants in Sichuan Province for using the "Qinghuajiao" trademark , the "Qinghuajiao Incident" has recently become a hot and focused topic on the Internet.
Netizens have called it "suspicion of malicious litigation" and "touching porcelain->
.
" The Sichuan Condiment Association attaches great importance to this incident, and hereby issues the following statement regarding the "Green Pepper Incident":

 

　　1.
Green pepper is a generic name for raw materials of agricultural products and should not be registered as a trademark

 

　　Green pepper is an agricultural product and a raw material in Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Henan, Anhui and other places.
It belongs to the Rutaceae family and the Zanthoxylum genus.
It is a household name in Sichuan and Chongqing
.
Article 11 of the "Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that only the general name, graphics, and model of this product can only directly indicate the quality, main raw materials, function, purpose, weight, quantity and other characteristics of the product.
Others lack Distinctive features shall not be registered as trademarks
.
A company in Shanghai registered green pepper as a trademark and intensively sued dozens of restaurants in Sichuan Province.
The Sichuan Condiment Association paid close attention to this and raised objections
.

 

　　2.
Expect relevant parties to handle the "green pepper incident" carefully in accordance with the law to avoid breaking the industrial chain

 

　　Green pepper is not only used in the research, development and cooking of dishes, but also in the production and management of condiments, and also in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products, with a wide range of applications
.
The condiment industry and the catering industry are related to the upstream and downstream industry chains, and both pay great attention to the "green pepper incident"
.
The catering industry and the condiment industry depend on each other
.
In the "green pepper incident" litigation, once the court decides to restrict restaurants from using the words "green pepper" and patterns in recipes and signboards, the catering industry will be in a passive situation, and it will harm the condiment brand, and condiment companies will not escape bad luck.
In turn, the entire industrial chain is broken
.
In view of this, the Sichuan Condiment Association expects that the relevant departments can properly coordinate and that the judiciary can handle the "green pepper incident" carefully in accordance with the law
.

 

　　3.
The association will unite the planting, catering, and pharmaceutical industries, and work with major associations to initiate invalidation procedures for the "green prickly ash" trademark, and does not rule out the adoption of all necessary measures

 

　　It is the responsibility of Sichuan Condiment Association to reflect the reasonable demands of enterprises, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises, standardize business operations, unite and guide enterprises, and unite all sectors of the industry to promote the sustainable and healthy development of the condiment industry
.
The Sichuan Condiment Association supports condiment companies and catering companies in safeguarding their legal rights and interests in accordance with the law and maintaining the sustained and stable development of the industry
.
When necessary, the Sichuan Condiment Association will work with the legal team to unite the planting, catering, and pharmaceutical industries, together with major condiment associations, catering associations and related associations, to file an application for invalidation of the "Qinghuajiao" trademark.
All necessary measures to resolve the legal issues involved in the "Qinghuajiao Incident"
.

 

　　Hereby declare
.

 

　　Sichuan Condiment Association

 

　　December 25, 2021