Overview
- A first‑instance judgment by the Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court found that Shenzhen‑based Molly Tea infringed seven Louis Vuitton trademarks and awarded RMB 10 million in damages plus RMB 300,000 in costs for a total of RMB 10.3 million.
- The court required Molly Tea to publish corrective statements on six platforms — the company website, Weibo, WeChat public account, WeChat mini‑program, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin — to remove reputational effects from the alleged infringement.
- Molly Tea previously sought to register a similar four‑petal logo with China’s trademark office, the CNIPA, but that application and a subsequent refusal review were rejected and became final, a fact the court cited in its decision.
- Only a single leaked page of the judgment showing the damages has circulated publicly, Molly Tea says it will appeal, and the court ordered the payment within 10 days which makes short‑term enforcement possible while higher review remains open.
- The verdict has drawn large public attention and divided reaction online, with many users expressing sympathy for the local tea chain and others saying China’s first‑to‑file trademark system justifies protection of established global marks; the dispute could shape how foreign brands pick enforcement fights in China.