International jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. and Chinese sanitary napkin brand “ALFFANY” continue to have new developments in their long-standing trademark dispute. The Beijing High Court recently held a hearing on related trademark administrative cases involving Tiffany & Co. from the United States, the China National Intellectual Property Administration, and Hai Tao (Shanghai) Investment Co., Ltd.
According to public records, Hai Tao (Shanghai) Investment Co., Ltd. has now been renamed as Shanghai Suli Brand Management Co., Ltd. Previously, another international luxury brand under the LVMH group, Louis Vuitton (LV), had won a first-instance victory in a trademark dispute with a Chinese tea drink brand “Jasmine Milk White,” drawing attention to LVMH’s trademark protection efforts in China.
Public records show that Shanghai Suli Brand Management Co., Ltd. mainly operates the women’s care brand “ALFFANY.” According to Tianyancha data, the company is primarily engaged in business services and has been continuously applying to register multiple “ALFFANY” combined Chinese and English trademarks since 2016, mainly designated for use in feminine hygiene products under Class 5, such as sanitary napkins and pads, with “ALFFANY” being claimed to signify “caring for you.”
Over the years, Tiffany & Co. has repeatedly raised trademark objections and filed invalidation applications against the “ALFFANY” series of trademarks, with disputes involving multiple trademark categories.
According to public trademark data, the earliest disputed trademark was the No. 20852768 “ALFFANY” trademark applied for registration in 2016, designated for use with paper products, stationery, and other goods under Class 16. In 2017, Tiffany & Co. filed for an invalidation declaration with the China National Intellectual Property Administration.
After reviewing the case, the China National Intellectual Property Administration determined that “ALFFANY” and Tiffany’s core trademarks “TIFFANY” and “TIFFANY & Co.” had significant similarity in terms of letter arrangement and overall appearance, with paper products and jewelry accessories overlapping in some sales channels and consumer groups, potentially leading to public confusion about the origin of the goods, leading to the invalidation of the said trademark.
However, the two parties have continued to dispute and engage in administrative litigation regarding other categories of trademarks, making the case being heard by the Beijing High People’s Court the latest development in their long-standing trademark dispute.
According to media reports, Ms. Liu, the person in charge of the ALFFANY brand, mentioned that the company has been focusing on women’s sanitary products for many years, with the brand name derived from the concept of “wormwood” and carrying the meaning of “caring for you.” She stated that Tiffany & Co. has been persistently demanding the withdrawal of related trademarks in recent years, lodging complaints with multiple e-commerce platforms to remove ALFFANY products, and the company may face civil claims in the future.
Public records indicate that the ALFFANY brand was founded in 2016 by post-90s returnee Ms. Liu Ying. Currently, several e-commerce platforms still offer sanitary products marked with “ALFFANY ALFFANY,” and the brand’s offline distribution system continues to operate normally.
Tiffany & Co. was founded in 1837 and is headquartered in New York, USA. It is a globally renowned high-end jewelry brand known for diamond jewelry, silverware, watches, and upscale gifts, with its iconic “Tiffany Blue” packaging and six-prong diamond ring being famous worldwide.
In 2021, the French luxury goods group LVMH completed the acquisition of Tiffany & Co., with Tiffany & Co. now belonging to the LVMH group alongside Louis Vuitton (LV), Dior, Bvlgari, and other brands, with over forty boutique stores in the Chinese market.
Notably, shortly before the attention on the Tiffany & Co. trademark case, Louis Vuitton also made significant progress in a trademark protection case in China. In late June, the Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court in Jiangsu Province ruled in the first instance that the Chinese tea drink brand “Jasmine Milk White” infringed on Louis Vuitton’s seven “four-leaf flower” graphic trademark rights, ordering the relevant company to compensate Louis Vuitton with 10.3 million RMB and publish a statement to eliminate the impact. Jasmine Milk White is currently considering whether to appeal.