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Top Chinese QSR sued for $30M for allegedly illegally using Bruce Lee's image

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December 26, 2019

The daughter of famed martial arts star and actor Bruce Lee is suing a Chinese fast-food chain for $30 million in damages for allegedly using an image of her famous father without the family's permission in the brand's logo for the past 15 years.

Shannon Lee and the company that handles her late father's estate filed suit against the Kungfu Catering Management's Real Kung Fu brand alleging the brand has never paid intellectual property rights for the use of the image, according to MSN. 

Today, the brand named in the suit said Chinese authorities had authorized its use of the logo many years ago. 

"We're confused that we are prosecuted many years later," the company said in a statement posted on China's social media platform Weibo. Chinese media reported that Ms. Lee is demanding that the chain immediately cease its use of the image and state that it is not affiliated in any way with Bruce Lee for a 90-day period. The suit also asks for the equivalent of $30 million U.S. dollars. 

The 29-year-old Guangzhou, China-based restaurant has used an image of a dark-haired man in a kung fu pose in its logo since 2004 to represent its 600 stores in the mammoth country, where Real Kung Fu is among the nation's top Chinese QSR brands.

Bruce Lee Enterprises in Los Angeles is operated by Shannon Lee, and handles the famous actor's image and its use on merchandise and elsewhere.