BAW Loses Final Appeal and Is Banned from Using 'BAIC' Trademark

[Corporate Dispute] Beijing Automobile Works (BAW) has been definitively ordered in a final court ruling to cease using the abbreviation 'BAIC' and to pay RMB 300,000 in compensation.

Key Development: Beijing Automobile Works Prohibited from Using 'BAIC' Identifier

The court determined that 'BAIC' has established a stable and exclusive association with BAIC Group, and therefore BAW holds no independent rights to continue using this abbreviation. The appellate court upheld the original judgment, requiring BAW to immediately discontinue use of the mark, publish a corrective notice in newspapers to mitigate reputational impact, and compensate for economic losses amounting to RMB 280,000 plus RMB 20,000 in reasonable expenses.

Strategic Insight: Historical Ties Do Not Confer Brand Inheritance Rights

Although Beijing Automobile Works was founded in 1951, participated in establishing China’s first Sino-foreign joint-venture automaker—Beijing Jeep—and became a subsidiary of BAIC Holdings in 2001, the court emphasized that BAW failed to demonstrate it possesses independent, competitive rights to the 'BAIC' designation.