Why does brand trademark protection matter in coffee and tea?
The Tianxin District People's Court of Changsha ruled in the first instance that Sexy View infringed Sexy Tea, ordering it to stop nationwide unfair competition such as similar decoration advertising, franchise licensing, and false advertising, and to pay 1.7 million yuan in economic losses and reasonable rights-protection costs. Sexy Tea was founded in 2013 in Changsha.
Sexy View had sued first, and Sexy Tea countersued and won, after which the brand said it would issue members a 2 yuan coupon. The case has been followed closely in beverage circles. Principles similar to fair trade coffee, which center on transparent and lawful dealing, sit behind the ruling. For reference, Costa Coffee was founded in 1971.
The trademark and unfair competition dispute between Sexy Tea and Sexy View has finally reached a phased conclusion. The Tianxin District People's Court of Changsha City ruled in the first instance that Sexy View lost the case, and must stop the relevant infringing promotions and compensate Sexy Tea 1.7 million yuan for economic losses and reasonable legal costs. This years-long tug-of-war over rights protection, from Sexy View taking the lead in suing Sexy Tea, to Sexy Tea resolutely countersuing and ultimately winning, has been full of twists and turns. Founded in 2013, Sexy Tea is a well-known local milk tea brand in Changsha, featuring Chinese style and long adhering to a direct-operated model. It was not until 2020 that it expanded beyond Changsha to Wuhan, Shenzhen, and other places. After winning the case, the brand announced that it would issue discount coupons to members in celebration. This article reviews the course of the case, the brand's development history, and background related to its Logo design, providing a comprehensive interpretation for coffee and tea beverage enthusiasts.
Sexy Tea topped the Weibo hot search list!
This time it is because Sexy Tea won its lawsuit against Sexy View.
Do you all still remember that Sexy Tea's receipts once bore lines such as "When we have money, we'll go sue them" and "We've already made a little money and started suing them"?
Sexy Tea shopping receipt
This morning, the case in which "Sexy Tea" sued "Sexy View" for infringement reached a result—Sexy Tea won.
The official WeChat public account of the Tianxin District People's Court of Changsha City today published the first-instance judgment in the unfair competition infringement case brought by "Sexy Tea" against "Sexy View."
The court ruled that "Sexy View" lost the case and must immediately stop, nationwide, unfair competition acts against "Sexy Tea" such as identical or similar decoration advertising, franchise licensing and investment promotion, and false advertising; it must also pay "Sexy Tea" a total of 1.7 million yuan in economic losses and reasonable rights-protection expenses.
In response, Sexy Tea said on Weibo: "To share this happiness, we will issue each dear customer's electronic member account a coupon for 2 yuan off!"
Haha, it seems Sexy Tea really did make money this time.
In April last year, the copycat version "Sexy View" instead took the genuine "Sexy Tea" to court. This "thief crying 'stop thief'" drama caused quite a stir online at the time.
Sexy View sued Sexy Tea on grounds of trademark infringement, demanding 210,000 yuan in compensation and an apology statement published on platforms such as its WeChat public account, Weibo, Dianping, and Meituan Waimai to eliminate the adverse impact on its own brand, but this claim was rejected by the court.
On January 4 this year, Sexy Tea filed a lawsuit against Sexy View on grounds of unfair competition. At that time, Sexy Tea's official Weibo also publicly responded: it had filed an anti-unfair competition lawsuit with the Tianxin District People's Court, and stated that it would fight the infringing acts to the end.
After several years, Sexy Tea finally won its lawsuit against Sexy View, and netizens commented one after another: "Both heartbreaking and hilarious."
Public information shows that Sexy Tea was founded in 2013 and is a well-known local milk tea brand in Changsha, focusing on fresh tea drinks with a Chinese-style theme.
In terms of products, Sexy Tea uses traditional oolong tea, jasmine tea, and other Chinese teas as the tea base, paired with cream and crushed nuts. The refreshing tea fragrance blends with the soft milk foam, presenting a modern Chinese style. Its products, store decoration, and peripheral products all carry strong "Chinese style" elements.
Because Sexy Tea had previously insisted on not opening stores outside Changsha and not offering franchises, it attracted many young people from all over the country to travel specially to Changsha to taste it, thus becoming an "internet-famous" brand well known to milk tea lovers nationwide.
However, on January 18, 2020, Sexy Tea, which had long cultivated the local Changsha market, announced through its official Weibo that it confirmed it would open stores in cities outside Changsha in 2020, and emphasized that "after leaving Changsha, it will still adopt a direct-operated model, with no franchising and no agencies." The first stop was chosen as Wuhan. Last December, Sexy Tea stepped outside Changsha for the first time, placing a store in Wuhan Tiandi, and it quickly topped the hot search list on the opening day. The previous Sexy Tea pop-up store in Shenzhen was its second stop.
As of December 2020, Sexy Tea had opened more than 290 direct-operated stores in Changsha.
*Image source: Sexy Tea Weibo, internet
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
