Fast fashion giant Shein has accused its rival, Temu, of a host of intellectual property infringements including copyright infringement, trade mark infringement, unfair competition, and unfair advertising practices in the latest fashion fueled feud between the two retailers.
On 19 August 2024, Roadget Business Pte. Ltd, more commonly known to the public as Shein, filed a scathing lawsuit against PPD Holdings Inc, which operates the Temu ecommerce platform, before the US Federal High Court.
Specifically, Shien has accused Temu of the following of unlawful conduct:
1. Copyright infringement
Shein has alleged that Temu has infringed the copyright vested in its various clothing designs and photographs by reproducing or causing the reproduction, of these designs and photographs, without Shein's consent.
In its founding papers, Shein included the below examples of alleged copyright infringement:
2. Various forms of trade mark infringement
Shein has accused Temu of trade mark infringement and counterfeiting based on the alleged use of the SHEIN trade mark on clothing labels displayed on Temu's online platforms in the following manner:
A further claim for trade mark infringement has been based on the allegation that the trade mark SHEIN is being used in advertising conducted by or on behalf of Temu, such as the use thereof in results displayed in internet searches as shown below:
3. Unlawful competition
Shein has also claimed various forms of unlawful competition by Temu, including the misappropriation of trade secrets and the poaching of employees and suppliers.
Shein's case is that the alleged acts of infringement are likely to cause, and have caused, confusion and deception in the minds of the public and enables Temu unfairly to benefit financially from unlawful conduct.
Shein has argued that Temu's conduct will cause irreparable harm to Shein's goodwill and reputation and diminish the strength of the SHEIN brand, resulting in damages.
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