China's renowned Tsinghua University claimed in a provincial court on Wednesday that a local kindergarten was breaching its ownership of its trademark name "Tsinghua".

Tsinghua University. [File Photo: VCG]

At the hearing in the city of Ganzhou in Jiangxi Province, the university accused the kindergarten, whose Chinese name "Qinghua" shares the same characters as the university, of having falsely associated itself with the university and in doing so infringed on its trademark.

In its defense, the kindergarten claims that when it was established in 2004 it was named after its founder, and not the university. It also said that Tsinghua University had only trademarked its name in traditional Chinese characters, while the kindergarten's name was written in simplified characters.

Court employees told the Beijing Youth Daily that five cases were being heard that day in which Tsinghua University was making claims against local educational institutions. The spate of cases bought by the university is said to be part of its recent intensive efforts to defend its intellectual property.

Tsinghua University's case against Qinghua Kindergarten is ongoing.