Here’s the deal – miHoYo just won a major trademark infringement case against an e-sports hotel. Honestly, it’s about time someone took action against these copycats. On November 25, miHoYo’s legal department announced on social media that the company had emerged victorious in the case. The court ruled that the hotel’s behavior was likely to cause public confusion and constituted trademark infringement and unfair competition. As a result, the hotel was ordered to compensate miHoYo for economic losses and reasonable expenses totaling 350,000 yuan.
So, what happened? Well, miHoYo discovered that an e-sports hotel in Chenzhou city, Hunan Province, was using the name “Yuanshen E-sports Hotel” and the same logo as miHoYo’s “Yuanshen” trademark on its outdoor sign, room cards, and pillows. The hotel also used the name on a travel website and its WeChat public account, leading the public to believe that it had a specific connection with miHoYo. However, the hotel had no cooperation relationship with miHoYo. miHoYo then filed a lawsuit, demanding that the hotel stop its infringing behavior and compensate for related losses.
But here’s the thing – after being sued by miHoYo, the e-sports hotel didn’t stop its infringing behavior. Instead, it continued to use the name “Yuanshen E-sports Hotel” in promotional information on the travel website and WeChat public account. I mean, come on, can’t they just respect the law?
The Shanghai Intellectual Property Court ruled in the first instance that the “Yuanshen” trademark was a well-known trademark, and the hotel’s provision of game services was related to the trademark. The hotel’s use of the name “Yuanshen” and the similar name “Yuansen” was likely to cause public confusion, leading them to believe that the hotel had a specific connection with miHoYo.
During the lawsuit, the hotel had clearly known that the trademark had a high reputation in the relevant field, but still used a similar name “Yuansen” when changing the hotel’s name, which constituted trademark infringement and unfair competition. Honestly, it’s just not cool to try to ride someone else’s coattails like that.
Therefore, the court ruled that the e-sports hotel must immediately stop its infringing behavior and compensate miHoYo for economic losses and reasonable expenses of 350,000 yuan. The hotel then appealed, but the Shanghai Higher People’s Court rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.
miHoYo was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China, with global operations in countries and regions such as Singapore, the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. The company currently has 5,000 employees. miHoYo has successively launched several high-quality and popular products, including “Honkai Impact 2”, “Honkai Impact 3”, “Tears of Themis”, “Yuanshen”, “Honkai: Star Rail”, and “Zenless Zone Zero”, and has created multiple products such as animations, music, and peripherals around its original IP.
“Yuanshen” is an open-world adventure game developed and published by miHoYo, which was launched in 2020 and quickly became a global phenomenon-level game. According to Sensor Tower data, the game achieved a total revenue of over $3 billion on mobile devices in just two years, with an average revenue of $1 billion every six months. Additionally, according to a report by game data analysis company Niko Partners, as of 2024, “Yuanshen” had a total revenue of over $9 billion on mobile devices worldwide. That’s some serious cash, folks.
