A court in Suzhou has ordered mainland Chinese tea chain Molly Tea to pay over 10 million yuan to French luxury powerhouse Louis Vuitton. The first-instance judgment found the beverage brand guilty of infringing on LV's iconic four-leaf floral trademarks.
The Suzhou Intermediate People's Court ruled that Shenzhen Mile Catering Management Co., Ltd. and a beverage shop in the Wuzhong Economic and Technological Development Zone violated the exclusive rights of seven registered Louis Vuitton trademarks.
The visual designs used by the tea brand were found to closely mirror the luxury fashion house's classic four-leaf floral patterns.
Following the ruling, the tea brand's parent company is required to pay 10 million yuan in economic damages within ten days.
They must also cover an additional 300,000 yuan for reasonable legal expenses incurred by Louis Vuitton during the enforcement process, bringing the total penalty to 10.3 million yuan.
Despite the court's decision, the Chinese beverage company plans to challenge the outcome. Local media outlet Jiemian News reported that founder Zhang Bochung intends to file an appeal against the ruling.
However, the tea brand faces significant hurdles regarding its intellectual property registrations.
According to the National Intellectual Property Administration's database, the multiple four-leaf floral trademarks previously applied for by Molly Tea are currently marked as either under rejection review or completely invalid.
