A luxury shoe brand worn by celebrities and characters from the TV series Sex and the City has won a long-running legal battle to use its name in China.
Manolo Blahnik - named after the Spanish fashion designer who founded it - has been embroiled in a dispute with Chinese businessman Fang Yuzhou since 2000.
The label was founded in the 1970s by Mr Blahnik, who has a residence in Bath, in Somerset. His company has taken numerous actions against Mr Fang to dispute the validity of trademarks he had filed in China related to the Manolo Blahnik name.
According to Reuters , the company said in a statement the Supreme People’s Court of China - the country’s highest judicial body - handed down the judgement last month.
Chief executive Kristina Blahnik, the niece of Mr Blahnik, said: "This is a meaningful victory for my uncle, our family and our team and I want to express gratitude to the Supreme People's Court of China for its thorough and careful consideration of our long-standing case."
Ms Blahnik, who was awarded an honorary degree from Bath Spa University in 2012, told the FT the brand would begin selling its shoes in China from next year.
BusinessLive has been unable to contact Mr Fang for comment.
China has different intellectual property (IP) restrictions compared to countries such as the US, which require companies to prove prior use or intent to use a trademark before it can be registered.
China is a ‘first to file’ jurisdiction, meaning Mr Fang's claim to the name as the first person to trademark it in the China market in 1999 was long found to be stronger under Chinese law.
In 2019, amendments were made to China's IP laws to tackle so-called "bad faith" filings. This has led to some high-profile wins for international brands in recent years.
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