On World Book Day in 2024 (April 23), LELECHA, a Mainland China milk tea brand, partnered with Yilin Press to launch a “Smoky Oolong” milk tea as a tribute to the prominent Chinese writer Lu Xun. However, the marketing campaign’s use of a customised, but recognisable artwork depiction of Lu Xun, ultimately led to a court finding of infringement of both the copyright and moral rights in the original artwork, with LELECHA ordered to pay damages and issue a public apology.
Lu Xun was a leading figure of the New Culture Movement that swept China in the early 20th Century, who inspired many young people to join the revolutionary movement of the time. In the 1970s, the late Chinese painter Yang Zhiguang and his spouse and collaborator, Ou Yang, jointly created two iconic portraits of Lu Xun; which artworks were the copyright works relied upon by the plaintiffs, Ou Yang and Yang Hong (Yang Zhiguang’s daughter), in this case. The Cultural Revolution era artworks depict a striding, bushy moustached man wearing a long white gown and brandishing a cigarette.
As part of its 2024 promotional campaign, LELECHA used an image strikingly similar to the plaintiffs’ works across its product packaging and marketing materials. The image notably altered the original by replacing Lu Xun’s cigarette with a cup of milk tea and reversing the orientation. Accompanied by the slogan “Old Smoker, New Youth”, the campaign sought to draw on Lu Xun’s cultural legacy. However, it quickly sparked public criticism, with some viewing the campaign as diminishing and disrespectful to the iconic, literary figure.
In February 2025, the plaintiffs brought a copyright action against LELECHA and its affiliates, seeking damages and a public apology. The Shanghai Court found that the images used by LELECHA bore substantial similarity to the plaintiffs’ artworks and amounted to infringement. It further held that replacing the cigarette with a cup of milk tea constituted a violation of the moral right to protect the integrity of the work. Notably, the Court emphasised that even minor alterations may infringe moral rights if they depart from the author’s original intent. In this case, the modifications were found to have altered the authors’ intended expression and distorted the integrity of the works, thereby misusing both the economic and moral rights. LELECHA were ordered to pay damages and issue a public apology.
This case serves as a cautionary tale for commercial campaigns that use or amend existing works: it can infringe the moral rights of the author if it distorts the original intent, as well as being a breach of the copyright of the owner (who potentially could be a different person to the author). Brands must therefore exercise great care when using culturally significant images, ensuring both proper rights clearance and sensitivity to artistic integrity, to avoid these legal and reputational risks.