L'Oreal Paris Ad Fault Leads to Infringement?

On May 30, BST, Chinese actor Gong Jun, the Inspiration spokesperson of L'Oreal Paris China, released a promotional poster related to L'Oreal UV Perfect on the Chinese social platform Weibo. In the poster, L'Oreal was mistakenly written as "L'Oeal", which caused extensive discussion among netizens. The two sides have not responded yet. The product is currently available in the L'Oreal Paris Tmall flagship store, with more than 1,000 pre-orders.

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On May 30, Beijing time (all times in this article are Beijing time), Chinese actor Gong Jun posted a promotional Weibo related to L'Oreal Paris on the Chinese social platform Weibo. However, there was an error on the poster with the picture on Weibo, and the Chinese character “Ou Lai Ya” representing L'Oreal in the poster was written as "Ou Cai Ya".（Just like L'Oreal was mistakenly written as "L'Oeal"） Neither the star nor the brand party reviewed the error, and the poster was released directly.

Subsequently, Weibo was quickly deleted, but the topic # Gong Jun L'Oreal# quickly became a hot search on Weibo. As of 9:30 on June 1, 2022, the topic of #Gong Jun L'Oreal# on Weibo has exceeded 65 million views, and the number of discussions is 50,000+.

The incident also aroused heated discussions among Chinese netizens. Many netizens thought it was a pretty stupid mistake. Some people speculated that the brand design was wrong. At the same time, some netizens complained, " Neither the brand side nor the star side made a careful review."

According to public information, Gong Jun has over 19.46 million followers on Weibo. According to incomplete statistics, Gong Jun currently endorses or cooperates with brands including L'Oreal Paris, Charlotte Tilbury, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, YA-MAN, Colgate, Safeguard, KFC, etc.

On March 3, 2021, Gong Jun, as the L'Oreal Paris sunscreen experience officer, promoted L'Oreal UV Perfect on Weibo for the first time. On March 31 this year, Gong Jun was upgraded from L'Oreal Paris sunscreen experience officer to L'Oreal Paris inspiration spokesperson.

It is reported that Gong Jun mainly endorses two products for L'Oreal in Paris, namely, L'Oreal UV Perfect and L'Oreal Spot Brightening Whitening Mask, which the mask claims the efficacy in whitening and lightening spots. In the 618 pre-sale promotion this year, the reservation volume of facial masks in its flagship store of Tmall, China's mainstream e-commerce platform, reached 8000+. The L'Oreal UV Perfect also has more than 1,000 pre-orders.

L'Oreal officials have not responded to this matter and related remarks.

Although Gong Jun has deleted the relevant Weibo, this move may have the risk of infringement. According to the China Trademark Network, the wrongly typed "Ou Cai Ya" category 3 cosmetic trademark in the poster has been applied for registration by Beijing Kangjie Fuyuan Trading Co., Ltd. The period of exclusive right to use the trademark is from March 28, 2012, to March 2022 27th.

"If a trademark registered by others is used, it may be suspected of infringement." In this regard, some Chinese legal professionals said that even if the trademark expires, the applicant can apply for an extension within six months. If the trademark "Ou Cai Ya" has been applied for an extension, it is equivalent to the fact that the "Ou Cai Ya" printed on the L'Oreal poster is infringing. Even if the web is currently deleted, the screenshots of many netizens can be considered as evidence.

The above-mentioned person further stated that if it constitutes an infringement, the influence of the star will lead to the further spread of this infringement, and the influence will continue to expand, but he has deleted Weibo to reduce the continued expansion and influence of this damage. As for the consequences of damage, further identification and evaluation are required.

For advertising and marketing, whether it is a brand or a star, you must do your job well. Otherwise, once a mistake occurs, it will have an irreversible and adverse impact on the brand, and the reputation of a brand is accumulated over a hundred years.