Why Bruce Lee’s Daughter Is Suing A Fast Food Chain

Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee is going after a fast-food chain in China for using his image on their logo. Named Real Kungfu, the restaurant chain has used the late martial artist’s image for their brand and now Lee’s company is seeking payment for usage of the logo and requesting to remove it.

According to the BBC, Bruce Lee Enterprises is looking for $30 million in compensation from the fast-food chain as well as the removal of the image depicting a dark-haired man in a martial arts pose similar to Bruce Lee. In a statement, the restaurant chain argued that they have applied to use the image and have been using it for the past 15 years.

"The Real Kungfu chain's logo is one that the company had applied for and obtained after a rigorous screening by the national trademark agency, we have already been using this for 15 years", the company said. The restaurant chain also added, "We are baffled that after so many years we are now being sued, and we are currently energetically studying the case and preparing our response."

Founded in 1990, the first restaurant opened in Guangzhou before spreading to about 600 other locations across China over the years. The case hasn’t reached the Chinese government yet, but they have recently made it their mission to protect their intellectual properties.

This isn’t the first time that Bruce Lee’s reputation has been brought up. This past summer, Shannon Lee and countless other people who knew the legend criticized his depiction in Quentin Tarantino’s film “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” The film showcased the late martial artist actor as an arrogant personality on set, which is something that not everyone saw him as back in the day. His daughter has been outspoken about how her father was portrayed in the film, saying it didn’t show the real man she and the rest of the world knew. Tarantino fired back responding that he used what he knew on the man from a biography written by his wife Linda. It has sparked some debate between her and the director on the nature of Bruce Lee.