Molly Tea Ordered to Pay Louis Vuitton $1.5 Million, Drop Logo and Apologize
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jul 6
Molly Tea Ordered to Pay Louis Vuitton $1.5 Million, Drop Logo and Apologize
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 6
Summary
A Suzhou court ordered Molly Tea to pay 10.3 million yuan, stop using its logo and issue a public apology after finding the tea chain infringed Louis Vuitton's trademark.
Chinese media said the Shenzhen-based company copied Louis Vuitton's four-petal flower monogram, and affiliated firms had also filed multiple trademark applications that regulators rejected.
More than 400 million hashtag views and tens of thousands of comments showed the ruling split opinion online, with some users defending Molly Tea's design and others backing Louis Vuitton's legal rights.
The case has become a wider flashpoint in China over trademark enforcement, originality and whether common geometric motifs can be claimed by luxury brands.