The suit had been brought by Shanghai Yaqing Industry and Trade Co Ltd, which claimed consumers would confuse its Kuhai trademark with Coke’s Qoo brand.
Shanghai Yaqing said it registered the Kuhai trademark for beverage products in November 2000 and received approval from the State Trademark Administration a year later.
When the trademark was being inspected by the administration, Yaqing experimented with Kuhai juice-based beverages and asked clients for advice.
In early 2002 when the company planned to launch Kuhai beverages, it found that a similar product – Coke’s Qoo juice – was already on the market.
“The Chinese characters in the Qoo trademark mean ‘a cute boy,’ which is very similar to the meaning of Kuhai,” said Hong Shuben, the plaintiff’s attorney.
“Coca-Cola violated Yaqing’s trademark because it didn’t register the Qoo trademark, and consumers will become confused.”
Coca-Cola argued that Qoo’s Chinese characters are used along with an English word and a cartoon character; drawing a clear distinction between the competing products.
In addition, the Qoo beverage has been widely accepted by consumers while Yaqing never put the Kuhai trademark into use.
The court ruled that the pronunciation and graphic font of Qoo’s Chinese characters are different from Kuhai’s, and because Kuhai hasn’t been used, consumers can’t become confused. Qoo’s cartoon character also helps keep the two trademarks distinctive, the court ruled.
Monthly Archives: January 2005
sign
A sign of change at Gwanghwamun?
The Cultural Heritage Administration is at the center of controversy after announcing plans to take down a sign penned by former President Park Chung-hee located at Gwanghwamun, the southern gate of Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul.
The administration plans on hanging in its place a sign written in hanja (Chinese characters) compiled from the handwriting of King Jeongjo (1752-1800), the 22nd king of the Joseon Dynasty.
Its head Yoo Hong-jun announced three days ago that it was taking measures to remove the “Gwanghwamun” sign in Park’s handwriting as part of palace restoration projects.
“The current sign does not match with the characteristics of Gyeongbok Palace and compared to the original hanja sign, it is written backwards so we have decided to change it,” said an official at the cultural properties administration, which oversees the restoration and preservation of the nation’s cultural properties. In contrast to modern Korean, signs composed in hanja were traditionally written from right to left or top to bottom.
The administration is drawing fire from conservatives over its decision to replace the marker at Gwanghwamun, considered by many as the spiritual center of the capital. Conservatives are abuzz with suspicions that the decision has political motivations behind it. The Chosun Ilbo, a conservative daily newspaper, featured an article on its front page yesterday claiming that Yoo had likened President Roh Moo-hyun to the reform-minded King Jeongjo.
While giving a tour of Changdeok Palace to the president last October, Yoo was said to have remarked to Roh that he shared three characteristics with the late Joseon Dynasty ruler: upholding reform as his motto, unsuccessfully attempting to move the capital and seeking out the advice of young scholars.
Yoo responded to the newspaper’s allegations, saying, “It’s true that I compared the president to King Jeongjo. But that is not the reason why we are trying to change the Gwanghwamun sign, nor are there any political reasons behind it.”
The administration plans to make the switch on August 15, to mark the 60th anniversary of Liberation Day. The decision must first be approved by a separate cultural heritage board. A sign by Park has already been taken down at Hwaryeongjeon, a palace housing a shrine to Jeongjo in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
King Jeongjo did not reside in Gyeongbok Palace but lived at Gyeonghui Palace and later moved to Changdeok Palace, where he established Gyujeonggak, a royal library, in 1776, the first year of his reign. He also built Hwaseong Fortress in honor of his father, crown prince Sa-do Sae-ja.
The current wooden sign hanging at Gwanghwamun is written in Korean characters and was made in 1969. The three hanja characters in Gwanghwamun form the meaning, “Bestowing the great virtues of a king upon the nation and its people.” The original sign was said to have been written by nobleman painter Jeong Hak-kyo (1832-1914).
Placed at the center of a gate’s beam near the roof, signs or “hyeonpan” were typically written by important individuals to denote certain characteristics of a building. Signs were first used during the Three Kingdoms Period (57 B.C.-688 A.D.). During the Joseon Dynasty they were used to mark temples, palaces, Confucian academies and even ordinary residences.
The current “Gwanghwamun” sign (above) penned in Korean letters by late President Park Chung-hee and a new sign written in Chinese characters compiled from the handwriting of Joseon Dynasty King Jeongjo
Taipei seeks typos
The Taipei City Government is again asking for people to spot examples in city publications, signage, or Web sites of poor English or problems with romanization.
北市英文標示 挑錯有獎 寄給朋友 友善列印
【聯合新聞網 記者鄭朝陽／報導】
台北市要辦一項另類的「全民英檢」！為了提升台北市的國際化形象，北市府鼓勵市民為市府製作的文宣、指示牌、告示等英文部分挑出錯誤，挑出的錯誤愈多，獲得的獎品也愈多。
為了營造無誤的雙語生活環境，活動即日起至2月15日止。挑錯對象包括民政局各會館、各區戶政事務所、孔廟管理委員會、各區公所、各區里鄰公園中英文雙語標示內容的英文部分，包含各類標示牌、指示牌及告示、英文網站內容、宣導（引導）摺頁、出版品等，只要英文拼字錯誤、用字錯誤、排列錯誤、翻譯錯誤或文法錯誤均可。
想參加的民眾可上網填寫表格後，以電子郵件或傳真方式參加，經民政局的雙語顧問團審議，認定正確挑出三項以上錯誤，而且未與他人重複者，每人即可獲贈價值1000元的精美紀念品一份，挑錯愈多，得獎愈多。獲獎名單將於2月23日前於民政局網站公布，詳情可上民政局網站：http://www.ca.taipei.gov.tw查詢。
writing Nanjing dialect forms — anecdotes
老南京土话是“shao”，不是“sao”
2005年01月15日11:24 南京报业网【金陵晚报报道】本报探源南京土话的讨论继续进行中。一句简简单单、批评别人做事不规矩的“五二歹鬼”，就引出了十五六种写法，使人不得不感叹南京话的独特魅力。昨天，本报再度开通热线84636578，商讨南京话中，形容人话多、嗦的“sao”应该怎么写。没料到，市民讨论“sao”的热情更胜过 “五二歹鬼”！“sao”字许多人基本上天天都讲，可究竟怎么写，却难倒了不少人，也弄出了不少让人哭笑不得的麻烦。市民陈先生有写日记的习惯，每天都会把一天发生的种种琐事记录下来。可是每遇到“sao”字，陈先生就犯了难，只能用拼音代替。陈先生说，有时候翻翻自己的日记本，那个用拼音代替的“sao”字，就像害了牙病的人口中的蛀牙一般扎眼。后来，陈先生索性自己造了一个汉字，左边口字旁，右边是一个“绍”字，聊以代替这个“sao”字。某中学的赵同学对不知“sao”写成哪个字造成的麻烦也深有体会，平时在MSN、QQ上聊天或者给朋友发短信，遇到了要写“sao”字时，赵同学只好用别的字临时替代，可随便选个字，还真闹出过笑话：“有一次，我给一个朋友发短信，说她真嗦，写成了‘你真骚’，引起了朋友很大的误会！”“sao”是南京人常用的口头语，可是不知道是哪个字，这个问题其实早就引起了老南京们的注意，许多人对此还颇有研究。昨天下午，很多老南京一打进电话，就纠正了对“sao”的一个误读。家住城南门西地区的王桂珍女士、家住集庆门的张友清、家住升州路的吴先生等十几位老南京说，其实“sao”应该读成“shao”，而且还带个儿化音。“早些年，老南京都是这么说的，只不过发展到后来，年轻人偷懒，说话图快，又不喜欢说卷舌音，就念成了sao音。”市民顾守淮的看法则颇带有学术味道，他说， shao是江淮方言里的发音，后来南京话把它吸收过来了。之所以念成shao，主要是其意为人说话多，“饶舌”，而“饶舌”又可以说成“舌饶”，汉语拼音是（sherao），南京人讲习惯了，就把两个音合成一个音，成了“shao”。为了证明自己所说是正确的，顾守淮还举了个例子。早晚的发音是（zaowan），但在南京的方言里，为了省事，发音也演变成，南京人经常会问，“（早晚）zan天气怎样啊。”也是这个道理。那只是一种发音的省略，并不对应什么具体的字。这种现象，犹如北方话中的甭，其实是“不用”（buyong）两个字的连读一样。更多的市民则在电话中就“sao”应该写成哪个字提出了自己的看法。市民戴江群、孙文等人认为，该字应该写成“韶”，具体哪个字虽然有争议，但“韶”字最有可能。市民李志清认为应该写成“绍”，家住虎踞路的王珍珠则认为该写成“嗖”。王珍珠女士的解释颇有意思：“一般来说，都是女人话多，姑嫂、媳妇之类的人最‘sao’了，所以我想‘sao’的右半边该是 ‘嫂子’的‘嫂’的右半边，旁边是口字旁，代表是说话！”老南京们众说纷纭，“sao”究竟怎么写，还没有定论，本报今天下午3点以后继续开通热线 84636578，欢迎您来发表对“sao”的写法和来源的看法。 金陵晚报记者 于峰 实习生 杨阳
特别提醒
歇后语稍后推出本报这几日关于南京土话和南京歇后语的讨论征集活动异常火爆。每天下午三点开始，两部热线电话84636577、84636578就响个不停，一直到晚上。短短三天，光是歇后语，老南京们就给记者提供了数百条。由于版面有限、记者精力有限，因此本报决定先集中力量进行南京土语的讨论，老南京歇后语征集稍后进行。届时，本报将再度开通热线，敬请读者关注本报，谢谢！编者(编辑 五木)
1872 Mandarin phrasebook
I’ve just added some selections from an 1872 Mandarin phrasebook by Herbert Giles, from the days even before Wade-Giles. I think the entries make an interesting comparison with the Lonely Planet phrasebook mentioned earlier. An example of the Giles approach: “Poo yow raw shooey” for “Bù yào rè shuǐ.”
romanization, not zhuyin
Reply
您現在在畫面中看到的就是首度與國人見面原住民語教材，插圖以卡通為主，不過選用的是羅馬拼音，而不是注音，教育部表示，這些課本未來會統一成為國小母語教材，教育部甚至設計了電腦學習軟體，讓學生能夠更輕鬆學原住民語。
古采艷 涂堂鑾 2005-01-14 19:55
Tongyong Taiwanese dictionary
咱台語尚美！ 苦心完成新字典
民視 2005-01-15 16:14一套目前台灣最有系統整理的通用台語字典,已經編纂完成,即將在春節過後正式出版,這是吳崑松老先生在退休之後, 投入五年心血,所完成的鉅著,他期望新一代在學台語的時候,不僅能和國際接軌,也能更輕鬆.現有台灣通用台語字典小小一本,連通用客語字典都比它厚得多, 不過吳崑松老先生所完成卻是更厚的上下兩冊九千字的通用台語字典,即將在春節過後正式出版,還獲得李前總統與陳水扁總統的簽名留念.以通用拼音來學台語, 將傳統台語八調簡化成六調.號稱百分之九十五的發音和英文相容不須要另加套裝軟體,直接就可以在電腦Word上面作業.這是吳崑松在從事國際貿易退休後, 全力投 注五年時間所完成的作品,只希望能完成一個心願,讓有更多的新一代,體會到台語之美.(民視新聞陳淑貞,陳君宜台北報導)
languages of Taiwan
（中央社記者黃慧敏台北十四日電）「原住民族語言教材」第一階成果發表會今天在教育部舉行，十二族的四十種語言教材呈現在大眾面前。總編輯林修澈表示，少數民族的語言教材是文明的象徵；教育部長杜正勝也說，編製少數族群語言教材是先進國家才有的作為。
不過，編輯委員之一的朱清義憂心，少數學校利用聯課活動教授學生原住民語言，剝奪學生的課外活動時間，學生學習意願不高。杜正勝強調，母語教學是正式課程，對於執行偏差的學校，他會責成縣市主管單位要特別注意。
「原住民族語言教材」是依據教育部與行政院原住民族委員會共同組成的「原住民教育政策委員會」達成的決議，由委員會召集人、政治大學原住民族語言教育文化中心教授林修澈組成的「族語教材編審委員會」負責規劃。
教材分四十種語言，分九個階段進行，加上教師手冊，將出版七百二十冊；共出動兩百四十名各族精英編輯，其中，簡史郎是唯一的非原住民。
林修澈表示，過去的原住民族語言教材都是使用古代語言，這套教材則是走向現代化；第一階段的課本已印刷完成，並發送各縣市教學單位使用。由於課本採羅馬拼音，杜正勝表示，小學三年級以前的學生會聽會說就好，不見得要會看會讀，課本主要時給老師看的。
至於升學加分優惠必須取得母語能力認證，原民會強調，一定要表現出一定的母語能力，才能獲得加分優惠，若不堅持，等於是對原住民的傷害。
由於各級學校一星期只有一堂母語教學課，編審會也提供有聲課本，民眾可上網www.acld.nccu.edu.tw 學習，增加學習機會；而非原住民也可以利用這些教材自學自修。