A Chinese court has ruled in favor of Louis Vuitton in a trademark dispute over a "four-petal flower" logo. The homegrown Chinese tea beverage brand "Molly" now faces paying more than 2.3 billion won in damages, along with issuing a formal apology.
According to Lianhe Zaobao and Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu Province recently ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a first-instance trademark infringement lawsuit filed by French luxury brand Louis Vuitton against Chinese tea beverage brand "Molly."
The court found that the four-petal flower logo used by Molly infringed on Louis Vuitton's registered trademark. As a result, the court ruled that Molly must pay Louis Vuitton 10.3 million yuan (about 2.32 billion won), consisting of 10 million yuan (about 2.25 billion won) in economic losses and 300,000 yuan (about 676 million won) in rights protection costs.
In addition to the damages, the court ordered Molly to pay Louis Vuitton within 10 days of the ruling becoming final, and to post a statement on its official website and social media platforms such as Weibo and WeChat to minimize the impact of the case.
The lawsuit began in May last year when Louis Vuitton claimed that Molly's "four-petal flower" logo was similar to its registered trademark, alleging trademark infringement.
Molly's founder stated the intention to appeal through social media immediately after the ruling. However, the brand changed the black logo used on its social media accounts to a different color, which local observers interpret as a remedial measure to respond to the trademark infringement controversy.
Public opinion in China over the ruling was divided. Some netizens agreed with the court's judgment, saying, "Louis Vuitton had already registered the trademark in China, and Molly's trademark registration application was also rejected in 2024, so continuing to use it is clearly problematic."
On the other hand, others argued that the design cannot be monopolized by a particular company, saying, "The four-petal flower pattern resembles the laurel flower pattern of the Tang Dynasty, so it can be seen as originating from traditional Chinese patterns."
Founded in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China in 2021, Molly currently operates more than 2,000 stores in China as well as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
