- A court in Suzhou (Jiangsu) ruled that Molly Tea infringed Louis Vuitton’s trademark, with the court finding that the company’s unlicensed use of the trademark amounted to 10.3 million yuan in damages, and that the company’s sales through the lawsuit period totaled 300,000 yuan. The court’s decision was reported by Xinhua.
- On June 29, the court found that Molly Tea’s trademark infringement continued for 30 days; the court also ruled that Molly Tea’s sales during the infringement period amounted to 10 days.
- In a similar case in China, a court found that the use of a trademark on a product without authorization can be considered infringement; the court also found that the infringement caused confusion among consumers and harmed the trademark owner’s interests.
A Chinese court in Suzhou ruled that the company Molly Tea infringed Louis Vuitton’s trademark rights by using a mirror-image design of the Louis Vuitton logo. According to Xinhua, the court ordered Molly Tea to pay 10 million yuan in damages, which is equivalent to 300,000 yuan for each day of the infringement.
The Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court. The court found that Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court. The materials state that the court determined that the lawsuit concerned the use of Louis Vuitton’s trademark on a series of products, which the court found to be similar to the original trademark. The court also found that the company used the trademark in a way that could mislead consumers.
The materials also state that the court found that Molly Tea’s French store in Wuzhong Economic Development Zone in Suzhou sold products related to the infringement for up to 100,000 yuan. Regarding the amount of damages, the court found that Molly Tea’s profit from the infringement was not clear, but that the company’s actions could be considered to have caused harm to Louis Vuitton’s trademark rights. The court also found that the infringement was intentional.
According to Xinhua, the court considered that the infringement of Molly Tea’s trademark involved a “mirror-image” element similar to the original trademark. The infringement was found to have lasted from June 29, and the company was ordered to pay damages for a total of 30 days, with the court finding that Molly Tea’s sales during the infringement period amounted to 10 days.
BBC reports that the case’s defendant, Zhang Bocheng, said in a statement to The Paper that the company was aware of the trademark and that it had been used for commercial purposes. The materials also state that BBC said it had verified that Molly Tea and Louis Vuitton were connected.
According to the materials, the defendant, using a logo design, sold products under the Molly Tea brand. The company started operating in Shenzhen in 2021, with branding that was designed to look like Chinese. In 2024, Molly Tea redesigned the logo, which, according to the materials, was scanned from a store, and the company used it on its own product packaging. Louis Vuitton, for its part, filed a lawsuit in 2025.
The materials also state that the court found that Molly Tea’s logo design was similar to the original, and that the company’s use of the design could mislead consumers, as the company used a mirror-image element similar to the Louis Vuitton trademark. The court also found that the company’s actions could be considered intentional. The court further found that the company’s use of the trademark could lead to confusion among consumers.
BBC reports that the lawsuit’s defendant said in an interview with the outlet: “The trademark was copied from Louis Vuitton.” The materials also state that China Daily wrote that Molly Tea’s trademark was copied from a trademark that belongs to China National Intellectual Property Administration.