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Suzhou court rules Molly Tea cease logo use and pay 10.3M yuan to Louis Vuitton, underscoring strict enforcement of trademark rights.
The Suzhou court ruled that popular Chinese tea chain Molly Tea copied Louis Vuitton’s four-petal flower monogram and ordered the company to stop using the logo, issue a public apology and pay 10.3m yuan in damages, China Daily reported on Thursday.
The ruling was delivered in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, against Shenzhen-based Molly Tea after Louis Vuitton argued the tea chain’s emblem infringed its registered trademark, the court said.
China Daily added that Molly Tea and affiliated firms had applied for multiple trademarks but were rejected by the China National Intellectual Property Administration, with only the mark containing the Chinese characters for “Molly Tea” successfully registered.
The decision has prompted widespread online debate in China, with a related hashtag attracting more than 400 million views and tens of thousands of comments on social platforms.
Some social media users defended Molly Tea’s design, arguing that geometric motifs have long historical use and that Western luxury designs drew inspiration from Chinese artefacts.
Other users backed the court’s verdict, noting that Louis Vuitton had an existing trademark and that protecting registered intellectual property rights is legitimate regardless of sector.
The BBC has contacted both Molly Tea and Louis Vuitton for comment. Additional reporting was provided by Koh Ewe.