On July 2, 2026, Chinese media Red Star News reported that French luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton (LV) won a lawsuit concerning the infringement of exclusive rights to a registered trademark by a Chinese beverage chain. According to the article, the losing party was "Moli Nianbai," a Chinese tea beverage chain founded in 2021. In 2024, Moli Nianbai repeatedly applied to the China National Intellectual Property Administration to register a black four-leaf floral pattern as its logo, but the authorities rejected the applications. However, Moli Nianbai continued to use the same logo. Later, as it grew to open a cumulative total of 2,400 stores both domestically and internationally, in 2025 Louis Vuitton sued it for trademark infringement, claiming that its logo strongly resembled the four-leaf pattern within LV's iconic "Monogram" design. The Suzhou Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu Province recently ruled that Shenzhen Moli Nianbai Catering Management Co., Ltd., which operates Moli Nianbai, infringed upon the exclusive rights of LV's "four-leaf geometric floral pattern" trademark registration included in its "Monogram" design. The court ordered Moli Nianbai to compensate Louis Vuitton for economic losses of 10 million yuan (approximately 240 million yen) and legal costs.

In response, on the 2nd, Moli Nianbai's founder reportedly told several Chinese media outlets that they intend to appeal the verdict.

【その他の写真】

This verdict has sparked a significant debate on the Chinese internet.

On social media, regarding Louis Vuitton's claimed "four-leaf geometric floral pattern," voices of dissatisfaction and opposition were prominent, such as: "It's a pattern that has been used in traditional Chinese paper cutting and ancient musical instruments since the Tang and Song dynasties," "It's originally an ancient pattern of our country, so it's unacceptable for an overseas brand to imitate it and then sue a Chinese company," and "Who is the true originator?"

On the other hand, there were also comments supporting the validity of the verdict, stating: "Even if it's an ancient design, under modern legal systems, the party who registered the trademark is protected. Rules are rules," and "It's a fact that Moli Nianbai continued to use the logo after failing to register the trademark, and that's a separate issue from its origin."

Additionally, some users questioned the enormous compensation of 10 million yuan, asking, "Who associates a luxury brand like LV with drinking milk tea? Did they really incur such a significant loss?" There were also comments acknowledging the similarity, like, "When I first drank at this store, I certainly thought it resembled LV." (Edited and Translated by Kawajiri)