Louis Vuitton court victory against Chinese tea chain stirs up a debate over copyrights
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
HONG KONG (AP) — A debate over ownership of traditional Chinese symbols has cropped up after a court ordered a local tea chain to pay French luxury brand Louis Vuitton $1.5 million over trademark infringement claims.
Chinese state-media and online commentators are questioning if the four-petal flower design in the fashion house’s 130-year-old signature monogram is derived from patterns dating back to ancient China. Some are accusing the company of “monopolizing” traditional Chinese patterns.
A court in the eastern city of Suzhou recently ruled that the logo of the Molly Tea, whose signature drinks are based on jasmine and other floral-based teas, infringed on Louis Vuitton’s trademark monogram. It ordered the tea company to pay 10.3 million yuan ($1.5 million) to the French company, according to local media reports that carried copies or details of what they said was the ruling.
Intellectual property fights between Western and Chinese brands are not uncommon. International brands like American sneaker maker New Balance have taken Chinese firms to local courts and sometimes prevailed in intellectual property and trademark cases.
The judgement has been trending online in China.
The state owned newspaper Beijing Daily said Tuesday in a post on the popular online platform Weibo that the ruling exposed a gap in protections of ancient Chinese heritage and symbols.
“Why did a Chinese enterprise end up paying more than 10 million yuan in damages to a French company for using a design that resonated with the spirit of China’s centuries-old patterns?” it said.
“Chinese netizens accuse LV of attempting to monopolize ancient motifs after lawsuit against tea brand,” said a headline in the Global Times, a state-owned English language newspaper. It asserted there was “widespread frustration” over a foreign brand controlling a design believed to be part of China’s cultural heritage.
A photo and caption accompanying the article showed patterns on a Tang Dynasty rosewood “pipa,” a kind of Chinese traditional lute, side-by-side with the Louis Vuitton monogram pattern.
Louis Vuitton is celebrating the 130th anniversary of its monogram designed in 1896, which it has called a “universal symbol of creativity.” The monogram was “inspired by neo-gothic ornamentation and the influence of Japonism,” its parent LVMH’s website says.
LVMH and Molly Tea did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Molly Tea, founded in 2021, was still displaying its four-petal flower logo on its official website as of Tuesday. The company told local media it was planning to appeal.
