Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People's Court dealt with 521 trademark infringement cases from 2002 to 2013, a court official said at a press conference Thursday.

About 32 percent of the cases involved trademarks registered in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and foreign countries, including those for Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Coach and Nike, said Li Guoquan, a deputy chief of Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People's Court.

Generally, the disputes are over whether one trademark resembles another more established trademark, Li said. The verdict usually hinges on how distinctive and prevalent the trademark is.

In one case, the court dismissed Shanghai Wuyuan Sports Goods Co Ltd's lawsuit against an athletic shoe maker that had printed the company's trademark on its shoes.

The court decided that the trademark of Wuyuan Sports Goods was not distinct because it was just a Chinese character. Furthermore, the plaintiff did not provide enough evidence to prove that its trademark was well-known.

Because China's Trademark Law gives greater legal protection to well-known trademarks, litigants required the court to rule on whether the involved trademark was famous in 24 cases.

To qualify as infringement, the plaintiff has to show that the defendant used its disputed trademark to sell a similar product.

In one case, US-based Intel Corp sued Shenzhen Yintejia Co for using the Intel trademark on its printer components. Although Intel is a microprocessor maker, the court still ruled that Yintejia violated its trademark.

The court ruled on cases involving the trademarks of Starbucks and Johnnie Walker. In 80 percent of the cases, the court awarded plaintiffs less than 200,000 yuan ($32,060) because they failed to prove they suffered financial losses from the trademark violations.