A Chinese court has ruled in favour of Louis Vuitton in a high-profile trademark infringement case against a domestic milk tea brand, awarding the French luxury house significant damages.
The Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court issued a first-instance civil judgment finding that Shenzhen Molly Tea Catering Management Co., Ltd. and a related retail outlet, Dongxia Beverage Shop, infringed seven of Louis Vuitton’s registered trademarks.
The court ordered the defendants to pay RMB 10 million in compensatory damages plus RMB 300,000 in reasonable enforcement costs, bringing the total award to RMB 10.3 million.
The case centres on Louis Vuitton Malletier’s seven registered trademarks incorporating its distinctive four-petal floral motif, a core element of the brand’s globally recognised monogram pattern.
Molly Tea had adopted a four-petal flower graphic as its central brand logo, deploying it across physical store signage, beverage packaging, online mini-programs, and promotional materials.
Beyond financial penalties, the defendants are required to publish corrective statements across six platforms, including the company’s official website, Weibo, WeChat, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin, to address the reputational effects of the infringement.
The ruling follows an earlier administrative defeat for Molly Tea, whose application to register its logo as trademark no. 81049590 was refused by China’s National Intellectual Property Administration, citing prior Louis Vuitton four-petal floral marks.
Molly Tea filed a refusal review, which was also dismissed by CNIPA, and the company did not pursue further administrative litigation, allowing that refusal review decision to become final.
The case has drawn considerable public debate in China, with many netizens arguing that Louis Vuitton’s four-petal monogram was itself inspired by historical Asian motifs dating back to the Tang Dynasty, which ran from 618 to 907 AD.
State media outlet the Global Times ran features stating that Chinese netizens accused Louis Vuitton of trying to “monopolize ancient motifs” that belong in the public domain, pointing to nearly identical geometric flower patterns found on Tang Dynasty artifacts such as a rosewood pipa.
Supporters of the ruling, however, argue that China’s strict first-to-file intellectual property system means Louis Vuitton’s prior registration of the specific geometric design grants it exclusive legal protection regardless of historical origin.
A third camp of commentators views the lawsuit as corporate overreach, contending that a luxury fashion house and a jasmine milk tea chain occupy entirely different commercial sectors, making consumer confusion between the two implausible.
The judgment is a first-instance ruling under case number (2025) 苏05民初617号, and Molly Tea has indicated it intends to appeal the decision, meaning the outcome could yet change at a higher court.