Abstract

The recent June 29, 2026 court decision in China
finding that Molly Tea, a local Chinese company, infringed Louis
Vuitton’s (LV) registered trademarks for a four-petal flower design has
ignited a firestorm of public anger and indignation. Critics charge that
LV was able to obtain a trademark for a flora symbol for its luxury
handbags that has been part of traditional Chinese culture for
centuries. This criticism invokes painful memories of western bullying
of China during the “century of humiliation” when European imperial
powers viciously subjugated and dominated China. The Communist Party,
China’s leaders, deliberately promotes the “century of humiliation”
narrative for political purposes.

This
Article argues that portrayal of the dispute as an external clash
between China and a western bully is misleading and obfuscates the true
conflict. The actual clash is a purely internal one between the policies
of modernization and economic development and the policies of
preserving China’s traditional culture. In this clash, China’s leaders
have consistently and unequivocally chosen to prioritize the policies of
economic development, which directly compel the result in favor of LV.

Comment from RT: The title is a bit misleading because the paper doesn’t go into the actual origin of the LV flower or what counts as cultural appropriation, instead arguing that China’s leadership has made a strategic decision not to care.