Chinese bubble tea brand ordered to pay LV nearly $48.5 million NTD for trademark infringement

A Chinese hand-shaken beverage brand, MOLLY TEA, faces a significant penalty after a court ruled it infringed on the trademarks of luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton (LV). The Suzhou court ordered MOLLY TEA's parent company and a related beverage shop to pay LV 10.3 million yuan (approximately $48.45 million NTD) in damages and reasonable expenses.

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If I remember correctly, wasn't this pattern around since ancient times?

The lawsuit centered on MOLLY TEA's brand logo, which LV argued was similar to its registered cloverleaf trademarks. The court sided with LV, finding that Shenzhen Molly Tea Catering Management Co., Ltd. and the Wu Zhong Economic Development Zone Dong Xia Beverage Store infringed on LV's exclusive rights to seven registered cloverleaf graphic trademarks.

MOLLY TEA's founder, Zhang Bocheng, has expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling and intends to appeal. Concurrently, MOLLY TEA's registered cloverleaf trademarks are under review, with statuses listed as "rejected" and "invalid" in intellectual property searches. The brand has already updated its logo on its official website, changing it from black to color, and its customer service avatar has also been modified.

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Who would think of LV when drinking milk tea? Besides, the four-leaf clover isn't exclusive to them.

The court's decision has sparked widespread discussion online. Chinese netizens questioned the exclusivity of the cloverleaf design, with some noting its ancient origins. Taiwanese netizens commented that trademark infringement is common in China. The case highlights the ongoing challenges of intellectual property protection in the region.

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For China, infringement is routine.