Louis Vuitton's Trademark Victory Over Molly Tea Sparks Cultural Debate and Public Backlash in China

In late June, a court in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, ruled that Shenzhen-based Molly Tea infringed on seven of Louis Vuitton’s registered four-petal floral trademarks. The court ordered Molly Tea to pay 10.3 million yuan (approximately US$1.5 million) in damages and legal expenses. Molly Tea’s founder announced plans to appeal the decision.

Although the ruling aligns with Chinese trademark and intellectual property laws, it has sparked significant public dissatisfaction and a heated debate across China.

The controversy initially centered on whether Molly Tea’s logo genuinely resembled Louis Vuitton’s trademarks and why the French luxury house pursued legal action against a company in a completely different industry—milk tea retail.

The discussion then broadened to questions about the appropriate boundaries for protecting intellectual property without monopolizing elements of shared cultural heritage.

Many commentators drew parallels between Louis Vuitton’s four-petal floral trademarks and traditional Chinese motifs, such as the baoxiang floral designs found on Tang dynasty pipa instruments, decorative window patterns in Suzhou’s classical gardens, and even ventilation grilles and floor tiles in older public restrooms.

Critics pointed out that while Louis Vuitton’s monogram dates back roughly 130 years, the four-petal flower motif has existed in Chinese culture for over a millennium, as noted by Think China.

The case also reignited longstanding public anger over perceived cultural appropriation by global luxury brands, a sentiment widely expressed by Chinese netizens.

Despite the court ruling against Molly Tea, the company has gained substantial public support. Its official Weibo account attracted 250,000 new followers within 30 days after the case became public, according to platform data.

News about the ruling amassed 400 million views on Weibo, and the hashtag "Molly Tea lost the lawsuit but won the public’s heart" garnered over 30 million views.

Molly Tea further boosted its public image by donating one million yuan to Hengzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which was recently affected by a typhoon. It was the first milk tea brand to launch a disaster relief initiative in the area.

"I am so touched. They are in the rain, yet still take the initiative to hold an umbrella for others," commented one netizen, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

Industry insiders suggest that the lawsuit may ultimately benefit Molly Tea by increasing brand awareness.

"More people know Molly Tea today because Louis Vuitton sued it," a tea-industry executive told Caixin, adding that the chain’s sales might not suffer significantly even if it must change its logo.

Louis Vuitton has been actively enforcing its trademark rights in China. As of July 16, it had filed 151 opposition cases with China’s intellectual property regulator against various four-leaf or four-petal designs, according to Dai Jiapeng, a partner at BZW Law Firm in Beijing, as reported by Caixin.

The luxury brand’s legal actions have attracted public attention recently, including lawsuits against a small daily necessities store in Ningbo for alleged infringement and a trademark administrative dispute with the China National Intellectual Property Administration.

Over the past five years, Louis Vuitton has filed nearly 1,700 trademark lawsuits in China, with 56 cases initiated in the first half of this year alone.