SHANGHAI - Chinese bike-sharing firm Mobike has filed a lawsuit against a Shanghai-based company for illegally putting advertisements on its bicycles, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday (Dec 28).

Mobike claims that Shanghai Huijia Information Technology put seat covers printed with advertisements on around 200,000 Mobikes in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

It says that Huijia took advantage of Mobike's users and reputation to promote its own brand and service, which has damaged Mobike's image.

In the lawsuit which was filed at the Shanghai Pudong New Area People's Court in mid-December, Mobike demanded compensation of 1 million yuan (S$205,000) as well as a public announcement to alleviate the negative impact of Huijia's actions, according to Xinhua.

Huijia is a Shanghai-based company and runs an online platform to provide search and reservation services for customers who need meeting venues.