Fangda’s Intellectual Property team helped Ralph Lauren Corporation (“Ralph Lauren“) obtain a favorable judgment in its unfair competition lawsuit against Shanghai RuiFa Garments Co., Ltd. (“RuiFa“). The case was heard in the first instance by the Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court and in the second instance by the Jiangsu High People’s Court. The litigation stretched more than four years before the judgment against RuiFa was finally effective as determined by the second instance court. This case was selected as one of the top ten model cases on anti-unfair competition from 2020 to 2022 by the Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court in April 2023.

As Ralph Lauren’s first successful case protecting its product packaging and store design and decorations, the judgment not only effectively protected Ralph Lauren’s legitimate rights in its product packaging and store decoration, but also was significant in suppressing the systematic counterfeiting by RuiFa. The judgment aligns with the current judicial focus on preventing unfair competition, creating an intellectual property ecosystem that respects the value of knowledge and innovation, and promoting a more predictable, international, rule-based and friendly environment for business.

The judgment contained three significant concepts. First, the court found that the product packaging and store interior design claimed by Ralph Lauren were overall significant and should be protected. Second, the court found that RuiFa engaged in unfair competition due to its intent to systematically counterfeit Ralph Lauren products and its store design and to illegally benefit from that counterfeiting. Third, in addition to fully supporting Ralph Lauren’s claim for RMB 3 million, the court made clear that its decision was limited to RuiFa’s acts of unfair completion and did not limit Ralph Lauren from pursuing further claims and compensation in another lawsuit for trademark infringement.

The Fangda team was led by partner Alexandra Yang and included team members Faery Song, Andrea Long, Yujia Sun and Charles Zhang.