THE BEAUTY NATION PTE. LTD. v HERBS HEALTH BEN CAO KANG MU PTE. LTD. & Anor

[2026] SGHC 77 High Court (General Division) 10 April 2026 • HC/OC 138/2025 • 60 min read

8 cases cited (7 SG, 1 foreign)

Catchwords

Intellectual Property — Copyright — Licences Intellectual Property — Copyright — Infringement Intellectual Property — Copyright — Groundless threat Intellectual Property — Trade marks and trade names — Passing off Intellectual Property — Trade marks and trade names — Infringement Intellectual Property — Trade marks and trade names — Groundless threat

Practice Areas

Intellectual Property

Judges (1)

Dedar Singh Gill Delivered

Counsel (7)

Gateway Law Corporation Firm Trident Law Corporation Firm Dai Jingwen Annie Counsel Plaintiff Mohamed Hashim H Sirajudeen Counsel Defendant Ng Chee Weng Counsel Plaintiff Suhaimi bin Lazim Counsel Defendant Thrumurgan s/o Ramapiram Counsel Defendant

Parties (3)

Herbs Health Ben Cao Kang Mu Pte. Ltd. Defendant TCM Shop SG Pte. Ltd. Defendant The Beauty Nation Pte. Ltd. Plaintiff

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.

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

Trade Marks Act (Cap 332)

s 27

Cases Cited (8)

SLR (7)

[1994] 1 SLR(R) 470 [2005] 2 SLR(R) 157 [2013] 4 SLR 193 [2015] 2 SLR 751 [2016] 4 SLR 86 [2018] 5 SLR 928 [2023] 3 SLR 1417

UK (1)

[2015] EWHC 3151

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.

Read on eLitigation

Source: eLitigation ([2026] SGHC 77)