The streetwear brand “Fānwán Creativity,” known for its “satirical imitations” of famous brand logos, widely used a logo resembling LV’s trademark in its Taipei store for promotion. LV filed a lawsuit, and the case was reported to the police. Fānwán claimed that consumers could clearly distinguish its secondary creative products from authentic LV items. However, the court ruled that Fānwán intended to exploit LV’s brand reputation and that the use was sufficient to confuse consumers. Ultimately, the court ordered Fānwán and two former executives to stop infringing on the trademark, destroy the infringing products, and pay 4.21 million in compensation, with the option to appeal.
LV argued that since 2008, its trademark has been recognized as one of the top 20 most famous trademarks globally, valued at 47 billion USD. However, Fānwán began using a logo resembling LV’s trademark in its Taipei Zhongshan District coffee shop in 2020, decorating the shop and selling imitation products on the premises and social media platforms. LV pointed out that Fānwán used a combination of the letters “L” and “V,” along with familiar diamond, four-leaf, and flower patterns, to mislead consumers into believing the products were related to LV.
Fānwán defended that the products were secondary creations and emphasized that consumers could distinguish them from LV products, arguing there was no trademark infringement. However, the judge found that Fānwán’s products were highly similar to LV’s trademark, and the product category was also closely related to LV’s, sufficient to confuse consumers.
The judge stated that while “satirical imitations” can be entertaining, they must still allow consumers to clearly distinguish between the products. If the purpose is to use a famous trademark to promote products, it cannot be justified by freedom of speech or artistic expression. Fānwán’s failure to clearly identify its own brand showed an intent to confuse consumers.
In the end, the court ruled that Fānwán must destroy the infringing products, remove related videos, and pay over 4.21 million in compensation, with the right to appeal.
