The Chaoyang District People’s Court of Beijing recently handed down a first-instance judgment in the unfair competition dispute brought by Pop Mart against NaiSnow. The court ruled that NaiSnow had committed unfair competition, ordering it to pay Pop Mart RMB 300,000 as compensation for economic losses plus RMB 20,000 to cover reasonable expenses incurred for rights protection. Neither party filed an appeal against the ruling, which has now taken legal effect.
Against a backdrop where misleading promotional practices have become a high-incidence areas of consumer rights litigation, this case clarifies a critical compliance boundary: businesses cannot evade legal liability by using prominent large text to imply an association with another brand while burying disclaimers in tiny print.
In September 2025, NaiSnow launched a cross-channel new product campaign covering physical stores, official WeChat accounts, Wechat Mini Programs and other platforms. It named multiple tea drinks "Mibubu", incorporated the artistic image of LABUBU into promotional visuals, and ran slogans including "Drink Mibubu, Win LABUBU". Disclaimers stating "No official affiliation with Pop Mart" were printed in small font at the bottom of promotional materials, while core slogans such as "Drink Mibubu, Win LABUBU" occupied the central space in large, eye-catching lettering. Pop Mart subsequently instituted formal proceedings against NaiSnow on grounds of unfair competition.
In its judgment, the court held that NaiSnow ought to have been aware of LABUBU’s widespread market recognition and should have avoided exploiting the IP in its commercial operations. Its marketing activities were likely to mislead consumers into believing there existed a formal commercial tie-up, licensing arrangement or co-branding partnership between NaiSnow and the LABUBU toy brand, resulting in consumer confusion and thus constituting unfair competition. The disclaimer failed to reasonably alert consumers that the promotion was unaffiliated with the plaintiff.
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Beijing, Pop Mart is China’s leading pop culture and entertainment enterprise. Its core operations cover pop toy IP incubation, product design and sales, and cultural promotion. LABUBU is its flagship pop toy IP, whose merchandise has grown into a nationwide blockbuster hit since launch.
Established in 2015, NaiSnow is a pioneering new-style tea beverage brand in China built around its signature dual offering of tea drinks and soft European breads. Its business portfolio now spans freshly brewed tea, bottled tea and premium tea gift sets. The brand was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June 2021, earning the title of the world’s first listed tea beverage enterprise.
