THE BEAUTY NATION PTE. LTD. v HERBS HEALTH BEN CAO KANG MU PTE. LTD. & Anor
Key facts
| Court | High Court (General Division) |
|---|---|
| Decided | |
| Judge | Dedar Singh Gill |
| Charges / claim | Intellectual Property |
| Counsel | Gateway Law Corporation, Trident Law Corporation, Dai Jingwen Annie, Mohamed Hashim H Sirajudeen, Ng Chee Weng, Suhaimi bin Lazim, Thrumurgan s/o Ramapiram |
Source: [2026] SGHC 77, High Court (General Division), decided — eLitigation. Updated .
Catchwords
Practice Areas
Judges (1)
Counsel (7)
Case Significance
The Beauty Nation Pte Ltd v Herbs Health Ben Cao Kang Mu Pte Ltd and another [2026] SGHC 77, decided by Dedar Singh Gill J on 10 April 2026 following trial in October and December 2025, concerned a dispute between a brand owner and its former authorised retailer in the health and beauty products sector. Herbs Health Ben Cao Kang Mu Pte Ltd had been an authorised retailer of Beauty Nation's products, selling goods bearing Beauty Nation's trade marks at a physical outlet and online; its related entity, TCM Shop SG Pte Ltd, also sold those goods online. Both defendants additionally used Beauty Nation's copyright-protected materials — including photographs and marketing materials — in advertising. Beauty Nation sued for trade mark infringement, copyright infringement, and inverse passing off covering the defendants' online sales. The defendants counterclaimed, alleging groundless threats of trade mark and copyright infringement. The case traverses the Copyright Act and the Trade Marks Act and engages the licence-infringement boundary relevant to authorised retailers who overstep their authorisation.
[2026] SGHC 77 explained
THE BEAUTY NATION PTE. LTD. v HERBS HEALTH BEN CAO KANG MU PTE. LTD. & Anor ([2026] SGHC 77) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 10 April 2026. It is categorised under Intellectual Property. It is a recent decision; within this corpus no later judgment has cited it yet. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.
What is [2026] SGHC 77 about?
THE BEAUTY NATION PTE. LTD. v HERBS HEALTH BEN CAO KANG MU PTE. LTD. & Anor ([2026] SGHC 77) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2026. Its published catchwords are “Intellectual Property — Copyright — Licences”, “Intellectual Property — Copyright — Infringement”, “Intellectual Property — Copyright — Groundless threat”, and “Intellectual Property — Trade marks and trade names — Passing off”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.
Which legislation does [2026] SGHC 77 consider?
The judgment refers to Copyright Act (Cap 63) and Trade Marks Act (Cap 332). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.
Summary
Beauty Nation Pte Ltd, a TCM supplements company, sued its former authorised retailer Herbs Health and related entity TCM Shop for copyright infringement, trade mark infringement and passing off arising from the online sale and advertising of Beauty Nation's genuine products using photographs and materials covered by Beauty Nation's intellectual property. The defendants counterclaimed that Beauty Nation had made groundless threats of infringement proceedings. The court dismissed Beauty Nation's claims, finding the defendants had an implied licence to sell and advertise the genuine products as an authorised retailer, and made no order on the counterclaim as no basis for the relief sought was established.
What claims did Beauty Nation bring against Herbs Health and TCM Shop in [2026] SGHC 77?
The Beauty Nation Pte Ltd sued Herbs Health Ben Cao Kang Mu Pte Ltd and TCM Shop SG Pte Ltd for trade mark infringement, copyright infringement, and inverse passing off arising from online sales and the use of Beauty Nation's copyright-protected photographs and marketing materials. The defendants counterclaimed for groundless threats of infringement under the Trade Marks Act and Copyright Act.
What was the relationship between The Beauty Nation and Herbs Health before litigation in [2026] SGHC 77?
Herbs Health Ben Cao Kang Mu Pte Ltd was an authorised retailer of The Beauty Nation Pte Ltd's products, selling goods bearing Beauty Nation's trade marks in a physical retail outlet and online. Its related entity, TCM Shop SG Pte Ltd, also sold those goods online. Both defendants used photographs and materials in which Beauty Nation held copyright.
Statutes Cited
Cases Cited (8)
Related cases
Other Singapore judgments involving the same parties or counsel.
Referenced in
Statutes interpreted in this judgment
Judgment
Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.
Read on eLitigationSource: eLitigation ([2026] SGHC 77)