A Chinese bubble tea chain has been ordered to pay £1.1m in damages after a court ruled its logo copied Louis Vuitton’s iconic four-petal flower design – a decision that has ignited a fierce online debate over intellectual property.
Popular tea chain Molly Tea, based in Shenzhen, was hit with the 10.3m yuan (£1.1m; $1.5m) penalty by a court in Suzhou, in eastern Jiangsu province, after a judge found its four-petal flower logo infringed the French luxury brand’s trademark, Chinese state media China Daily reported.
“Chinese tea chain Molly Tea ordered to pay £1.1m for copying Louis Vuitton's flower logo, sparking online debate.”
The ruling, reported last week, has divided the public in China, with a hashtag linked to the case drawing more than 400 million views and tens of thousands of comments on social media platforms.
The court also ordered Molly Tea to stop using the logo and to issue a public apology, according to China Daily. The outlet said Molly Tea and its affiliated firms had applied for multiple trademarks that were rejected by the China National Intellectual Property Administration; only the trademark containing the Chinese characters for “Molly Tea” was successfully registered.
Many Chinese social media users have defended Molly Tea’s design, arguing that many Western luxury brands have themselves drawn inspiration from Chinese artefacts. “Give me a break. They’re just taking advantage of the fact that our ancestors didn’t file for patents,” wrote one commenter on the Weibo platform, who added that he would “drink a cup of Molly Tea daily” to show support.
“Such basic geometric shapes have been used everywhere throughout history, not just China,” another user on the RedNote platform posted.
But some online voices backed the court’s verdict. A Weibo user said those defending Molly Tea should “study law first”, arguing that there was no dispute as Louis Vuitton had already registered the logo. Another said Louis Vuitton was justified in defending its intellectual property and that other brands do not have the right to imitate it, regardless of their industry.
The BBC has contacted Molly Tea and Louis Vuitton for comment. The debate shows no sign of cooling as Chinese consumers continue to weigh support for a home-grown brand against respect for established trademark law.