Chinese tea chain Molly Tea has been ordered to pay Louis Vuitton 10.3 million yuan ($1.5 million) in compensation for unauthorized use of a logo similar to the four-petal floral monogram of the French luxury brand, UNN reports citing the South China Morning Post.
Details
The Suzhou Intermediate People's Court in eastern China's Jiangsu province ruled this week that Shenzhen-based Molly Tea must pay the amount within 10 days.
It stated that the compensation in the trademark infringement lawsuit includes 10 million yuan for economic losses and 300,000 yuan for legal costs.
Molly Tea said it plans to appeal.
Louis Vuitton declined to comment.
Molly Tea updated the logo displayed in its mini-program, switching from a black-and-white version to a color one.
The court also ordered Molly Tea to publish a statement on the main pages of its six official accounts — on its website and mini-program, as well as on social media platforms Weibo, WeChat, RedNote, and Douyin — to eliminate the negative impact of the infringement.
This civil case was filed on May 15 last year, according to Tianyancha, a Chinese corporate information provider.
China's National Intellectual Property Administration said that trademark applications filed by Molly Tea in 2024 were rejected and placed under review.
The statement said that Louis Vuitton registered its monogram pattern in China.
The lawsuit sparked heated online debate in China. Some posts on Weibo argued that the two brands operate in different industries or that similar patterns were used in ancient China, but many said the logo immediately reminded them of Louis Vuitton.
Founded in 2021, Molly Tea said it now operates over 2,000 stores worldwide, as well as overseas outlets in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore.