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Xiaofei Xu

Mia Nurmamat

Louis Vuitton is set to face off against China’s trademark regulator in a Chinese intellectual property court on Thursday, as the French luxury brand deals with public backlash in China over a separate legal battle against a local milk tea brand.
Louis Vuitton Malletier filed the administrative lawsuit against the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), with a Chinese individual – Huang Minyao – joined as a third party, according to a notice published by the Beijing Intellectual Property Court in May.
It is not immediately clear based on the notice what trademark dispute the lawsuit involves.
The French fashion house is no stranger to litigation in China: 58 judgments and court summonses involving the company – most of them trademark disputes – have been published this year on the country’s official court announcement platform.
Another 11 trademark infringement cases involving the company are scheduled for hearings between mid-July and the end of August, according to court notices compiled by Qichacha, a Chinese corporate database.
This is also not the first time Louis Vuitton has sued China’s trademark regulator: the Beijing court heard a similar case in March, where the CNIPA was the defendant alongside a third-party individual in an administrative lawsuit brought by Louis Vuitton Malletier, according to a court notice recorded by Qichacha.

Yet the hearing comes at a delicate time for the luxury brand, which sparked backlash in China earlier this month after winning 10.3 million yuan (US$1.5 million) in damages from Molly Tea, a local milk tea chain, over a trademark infringement claim.
A court in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou found that the flower design used by Molly Tea in its branding violated Louis Vuitton’s trademarked monogram design.
It even said the milk tea chain had acted with “significant malicious intent”, given it had used the design despite having multiple trademark applications rejected.
But the ruling attracted widespread criticism on Chinese social media, with many users arguing that Molly Tea’s design was evoking a traditional Chinese pattern known as bao xiang hua, which combines the shapes of a peony and lotus flowers. Molly Tea said it would appeal the ruling.
Louis Vuitton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


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The French luxury brand is suing the government body as it faces backlash over a trademark dispute with a Chinese milk tea chain


The French luxury brand is suing the government body as it faces backlash over a trademark dispute with a Chinese milk tea chain.


Louis Vuitton takes China’s trademark regulator to court as legal drive continues

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The French luxury brand is suing the government body as it faces backlash over a trademark dispute with a Chinese milk tea chain

The French luxury brand is suing the government body as it faces backlash over a trademark dispute with a Chinese milk tea chain