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A trademark case initiated by French luxury giant Louis Vuitton will be heard by the Beijing Intellectual Property Court (IPC) on Thursday, according to a disclosed notice.
The lawsuit is against the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), with Huang Minyao named as a third party involved in the litigation. No further details were released.
The trial information has been made public on The People's Court Announcement, a website established by the SPC, China's top court, in 2024 to provide access to court hearing schedules, enforcement messages, and published rulings.
Louis Vuitton has become a hot topic on Chinese social media following a legal clash with a domestic milk tea brand. Chinese media reported that the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court in Jiangsu found that Molly Tea, along with one of its franchise outlets in Suzhou's Wuzhong district, had violated Louis Vuitton's registered four-petal flower trademarks. The court ruled that the Chinese company should stop the infringement, apologize publicly, and pay the French luxury brand 10.3 million yuan ($1.5 million).
The notice on the court's official website does not specify whether the upcoming case proceeding is related to the milk tea chain.
According to Beijing Daily, Huang Minyao, a garment trader from Shantou, Guangdong, who is associated with two now-dissolved garment manufacturing companies, registered trademarks similar to four-petal flower marks at the CNIPA.
After the registration, Louis Vuitton filed an opposition with the administration. The authority issued a ruling that did not uphold LV's claims, and LV, dissatisfied with the decision, brought proceedings before the Beijing IPC, Beijing Daily said.
It noted that the dispute focuses on whether the administrative ruling is legal, with Huang participating in the proceedings as a third-party intervenor.
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