The Beijing High People’s Court ruled in favor of Tencent’s QQ instant-messaging service in China’s first sound trademark case.
Upholding the first-instance judgment, the court found that the repeated “Di-Di-Di-Di-Di-Di” notification sound had been used for a long period and had acquired the ability to distinguish the service provider. It had become well known among instant-messaging users and clearly associated with QQ’s chat and message, image and document-transfer functions.
Tencent applied to register the sound in 2014, but the application was refused in 2015 for lack of distinctiveness. The trademark authority considered the “Di” sound common in electronic products and unable to identify a particular provider.
Tencent argued that its mark was more than simple repetition. It submitted a spectral catalogue, frequency spectrum and oscillogram, together with 152 National Library of China documents, to demonstrate prolonged, widespread use and acquired distinctiveness.
By the end of 2017, the Trademark Office had received approximately 700 sound trademark applications but approved only 22.
Source: http://www.cipnews.com.cn/cipnews/news_content.aspx?newsId=111763