Hylands Represents Studio of a Famous Female Artist in Endorsement Contract Dispute with Final Compensation of Over RMB 1 Million

Hylands was appointed by the Studio to represent it in the first and second instance proceedings of the case. The case involved a jewelry company that was supposed to completely remove and stop using the advertising materials containing the portraits and names of the artists within the withdrawal period upon the expiration of the endorsement contract, however, the Jewelry Company failed to stop using them in a timely manner, constituting a breach of contract. The main controversy in this case lied in the amount of liquidated damages corresponding to the breach of contract by the Jewelry Company. 

The court of first instance believed that the liquidated damages should be mainly compensatory and adjusted the amount of liquidated damages downward. Hylands continued to represent the Studio on appeal, and the Court of Second Instance ultimately concluded that: In the event that the amount incurred for breach of contract is too small compared to the amount incurred for compliance, it would be an encouragement to breach of contract. Therefore, the second trial appeal of the Studio's request for payment of liquidated damages was fully supported (the amount awarded was more than three times the amount awarded in the first trial). 

The team for the case was led by Partner Han ZHOU, represented by Partners Wenjie JIANG and He GAO.