British luxury footwear brand Manolo Blahnik has announced victory in a 22 year trademark copyright dispute and will officially enter the Chinese market.
In 1999, Fang Yuzhou and all of his Guangzhou Zhaoyue Footwear Co., Ltd. submitted five trademark registration applications, including “MANOLO&BLAHNIK”, which were approved to cover categories such as shoes and jewelry.
Since 2000, the Manolo Blahnik brand has been appealing against this series of trademarks, hoping to have them revoked, but has never been successful. Manolo Blahnik announced on July 19th that the Supreme People’s Court of China has ruled in favor of the Manolo Blahnik brand and revoked the trademark registered by Guangzhou Zhaoyue Footwear Co., Ltd.
Manolo Blahnik, the founder and creative director of the brand, said, “We are very grateful for the support provided by China and international parties, which was crucial to our victory. I sincerely thank the Supreme People’s Court of China and all those who have contributed to resolving this long-standing legal dispute
Before that, Manolo Blahnik brand could only sell goods in Chinese Mainland through third-party e-commerce platforms such as Farfetch. The brand said in the statement that it planned to expand its business to Chinese Mainland in the future, but did not give specific planning details.
The CEO of the brand, Kristina Blahnik, niece of Manolo Blahnik, said, “We have always been very passionate about China’s rich cultural heritage, and we look forward to being a part of this market in the future, sharing our stories, creativity, and passion with them. We will also continue to protect our intellectual property and interests globally
She also added that the development plan in the Chinese market is still in its early stages, but she hopes to officially enter the Chinese market in the second half of next year.
