Chinese milk tea brand Molly Tea has been ordered by a court to pay about 2.3 billion won in damages for infringing the trademark of French luxury brand Louis Vuitton. In China, however, public opinion that "a luxury company excessively pressured a weaker party" has spread, and voices supporting Molly Tea are instead growing louder.
According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) and other outlets on the 9th, the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu Province, China, recently ruled that Shenzhen-based Molly Tea must pay a total of 10.3 million yuan (about 2.3 billion won) in damages for infringing Louis Vuitton's trademark.
The court determined that Molly Tea's four-leaf flower logo was very similar in structure and form to the "four flower petals" monogram that represents Louis Vuitton. In particular, the court took issue with the fact that Molly Tea had applied for trademarks including the design several times since 2022, but all were rejected by Chinese intellectual property authorities on the grounds that they were "similar to Louis Vuitton's registered trademark," yet the company pressed ahead with using them.
The court found that Molly Tea intended to ride on Louis Vuitton's high brand recognition. The logo in question is known to have been used in the interiors and signage of more than 2,300 stores worldwide, including in China, North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Under the ruling, Molly Tea's parent company must pay 10 million yuan in economic losses and 300,000 yuan in rights protection costs, and franchise stores also bear joint liability within a certain scope. The court also ordered the company to immediately stop using the trademark and to post an apology on its official website and Weibo. Molly Tea is preparing to appeal, refusing to accept the ruling.
"Lost in Court but Won Public Support" — Louis Vuitton Faces Backlash on Chinese Social Media
Contrary to the court's judgment, Chinese consumers' reactions were quite different. The ruling drew significant attention, recording more than 400 million views on Weibo, and a hashtag saying "Molly Tea lost in court but won public support" also racked up tens of millions of views.
Chinese netizens responded that they found Louis Vuitton's lawsuit hard to understand, saying it is difficult to view a milk tea brand priced at around 15 yuan (about 3,000 won) per cup and a luxury brand costing millions of won as actual competitors in the market. Criticism that this was "a typical case of the strong bullying the weak" also followed.
Some defended the domestic brand, even claiming that Louis Vuitton's monogram itself resembles the "baoxianghua," an auspicious pattern used in traditional Chinese architectural window frames and musical instruments.
On top of this, as it became known that Molly Tea had recently donated 1 million yuan to the Hengzhou region of Guangxi Province, which was hit by a typhoon, public opinion tilted even more favorably. Hengzhou is a major producing area for jasmine flowers, a key raw material for Molly Tea, and the company was the first in the industry to step up with disaster recovery support.
Apart from the legal judgment, evaluations among Chinese consumers that the brand "demonstrated social responsibility rather than branding" continue. On the other hand, some in the legal community analyze that this ruling does not differ greatly from existing legal principles, in that infringement can be established in trademark disputes even if the two companies operate in different industries, if it damages the distinctiveness of a globally well-known trademark or induces consumer association.
