A trademark dispute lodged by Volkswagen AG, to challenge the decision by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board(TRAB ) under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce(SAIC) was supported by Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court recently. The court vacated and remanded the case to the TRAB for retrial.

People's Motor International Group, a Shanghai-based motorcycle company applied for "達(dá)眾 Dazon", pronounced alike Volkswagen in Chinese, as a registered trademark on December 13, 2002, and certified to be used for vehicle engines and motorcycles. 

The court held that there were no obvious difference between the disputed trademarks, which were both used for the same class of commodities, thus could confuse the consumers. So the two trademarks are regarded as similar marks. The decision by court was so ordered.(China IP News)