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With the image of Lu Xun
Promote the new product "Smoke Cavity Oolong"
After the controversy
The new tea drink brand Lele Tea has received
Lawyer's letter from the Lu Xun Foundation
On the afternoon of April 29, entrusted by the Lu Xun Foundation, Shanghai Zhu Miaochun Law Firm sent a lawyer's letter to Shanghai Chatian Catering Management Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Yilin Publishing House, the company to which Lele Tea belongs, demanding that they immediately stop the improper use of Lu Xun's portrait rights.
On April 23, World Book Day, Lele Tea and Yilin Publishing House launched the "Smoke Cavity Oolong" co-branded milk tea to pay tribute to the writer Lu Xun. In addition to the portrait of Lu Xun holding milk tea printed on the body of the cup, "Smoke Cavity Oolong" also launched a booklet, acrylic stand, paper bag, etc. printed with Lu Xun's portrait, and the promotional slogan of the product is "Old Smoke Cavity, New Youth".
Source: Little Red Book
Shanghai Zhu Miaochun Law Firm believes that Lu Xun's family, as Lu Xun's close relatives, has the right to request the protection of the deceased's personality interests in accordance with the law, and the Lu Xun Cultural Foundation has the right to handle Mr. Lu Xun's personality rights, including the right to name, portrait and reputation, with the authorization of Lu Xun's family. Secondly, the co-branded products related to "Smoke Cavity Oolong (Ebony Fragrance)" are based on the portrait of Lu Xun holding a teacup on the grounds of paying tribute to Lu Xun's literature, supplemented by the content of Lu Xun's creative articles, which has a clear direction, and the general public can associate the co-branded products with Mr. Lu Xun without any hesitation.
Shanghai Zhu Miaochun Law Firm pointed out that the spirit of Lu Xun is a brilliant treasure of Chinese culture, and that Lele Tea and Jiangsu Yilin Publishing House used Lu Xun's portrait without permission, and its commercial purpose and nature were clear, and it was not a reasonable use based on social and public interests, which was beyond the scope permitted by law. Moreover, Lele Tea has begun to sell "Smoke Cavity Oolong (Ebony Fragrance)" co-branded products, which have made huge profits.
Shanghai Zhu Miaochun Law Firm demanded that Lelecha and Jiangsu Yilin Publishing House immediately stop infringing on Lu Xun's portrait rights, and within 5 days of receiving the lawyer's letter, clarify the facts, eliminate the impact, and apologize in the corresponding national media and official WeChat public accounts for 10 consecutive days, and make corresponding compensation.
On April 29, Zhu Miaochun, the lawyer in charge of the case, said that the Lu Xun Foundation believed that Lelecha and Yilin Publishing House's use of Lu Xun's portrait for commercial purposes without his consent was not only inconsistent with the law, but also disrespectful to Lu Xun and his family. At the same time, for Lele Tea's use of Lu Xun's portrait to promote the new "Smoke Cavity Oolong" product, it is suspected of amplifying Lu Xun's "old Smoke Cavity" image, which is questioned as disrespectful to Lu Xun, Zhu Miaochun revealed that Lu Xun's descendants also have doubts about this.
According to Zhu Miaochun, Lele Tea has contacted him, and the other party is willing to apologize, but the two sides have not yet reached an agreement on compensation.
Lele Tea apologized:
Ill-considered, the rectification has been completed
On the evening of April 29, Lele Tea issued an apology statement through its official Weibo. Lelecha received the lawyer's letter from Shanghai Zhu Miaochun Law Firm on April 24 and contacted the lawyer to apologize, and expressed his willingness to take remedial measures, and began to communicate on April 25 to spread the relevant new product publicity, and notified the national stores to remove the relevant packaging materials and peripherals, as of the afternoon of April 26, the comprehensive rectification has been completed.
Lele tea before
The relevant peripherals have been removed from the shelves
Before the lawyer's letter was sent by the Lu Xun Foundation, the "smoke cavity oolong" launched by Lele Tea had caused some controversy, and the word "smoke cavity" was accused of disrespecting Lu Xun.
According to media reports, Hu Baotan, author of the Shanghainese novel "Lane Tang", believes that the term "old smoking gun" sometimes has a somewhat derogatory connotation in Shanghai's daily life. Lele Tea uses Lu Xun and his image, which makes people inevitably think of the meaning of "old smoking gun", after all, everyone has a deep impression of his smoking. The "new youth" should learn and inherit the spirit of Lu Xun, not the "smoke cavity" mentioned by Lele Cha.
On April 28, the reporter learned through the official applet of Lele Tea that at present, the "smoke cavity oolong" can still be purchased normally, but the cup used is the ordinary cup of Lele Tea, not the cup printed with Lu Xun's image.
The clerks of several Lele Tea stores in Shanghai said that the cups and related peripherals printed with Lu Xun's portrait of "Smoke Cavity Oolong" in many stores were sold out on April 27, and all stores now no longer sell cups and peripherals printed with Lu Xun's image.
On April 28, the reporter found that the joint tweet posted by Lelecha's official public account on April 23 had been deleted, and the promotional copy of other official channels was also missing. At the same time, the relevant person in charge of Lele Tea said that Lele Tea has removed the relevant propaganda and peripherals from the shelves. As for whether it will be re-listed, it said, "Pay attention to our follow-up official actions, and it is uncertain now."
Lele Tea opened its first store in Shanghai in 2016 and became popular among young people with popular products such as "Dirty Bag" and "Dirty Tea". At the end of December 2022, Lele Tea signed an investment agreement with Nai Xue, and Nai Xue spent 525 million yuan to acquire 43.64% of Lele Tea's shares, becoming the largest shareholder of Lele Tea, and Lele Tea became Nai Xue's associate. In April 2023, Lele Tea announced that it would open its franchise, and the speed of store opening began to accelerate. As of April 2, Lele Tea has 428 stores across the country, mainly in East China, accounting for more than eighty percent.
In addition to Lele tea, many tea brands have previously co-branded with historical celebrities and writers. On April 23, 2023, which is also World Book Day, Heytea and the People's Literature Publishing House jointly launched peripherals printed with the images of Lu Xun, Zhu Ziqing, Hu Shi, and Lin Huiyin, and since last year, Aunt Shanghai has also launched cup sleeves printed with the image of Lu Xun in the store in Lu Xun's hometown of Shaoxing.
Source: Southern Metropolis Daily, N Video
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