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Hey there, here's a court case where the pot calls the kettle black: Shein is suing Temu, in a very spicy complaint, accusing its competitor and fellow fast fashion giant of ripping off its designs (among other things). Shein is notorious for being accused of the same by everyone from big brands to small artists, but it's taking Temu to court regardless. In a civil complaint filed on Monday, Chinese fast fashion giant Shein claims other Chinese fast fashion giant Temu should be held accountable for running “an unlawful enterprise built on counterfeiting, theft of trade secrets, infringement of intellectual property rights, and fraud as they seek to infiltrate the U.S. with their platform,” and accuses Temu of masquerading “as a legitimate e-commerce ‘marketplace.’” Shein, coming in very hot within the first page of the complaint, claims that Temu “is not actually a ‘marketplace’ platform at all.” “It controls every aspect of its sellers' activity. It directs what products they can list and the prices for which they can sell; encourages them to infringe the intellectual property rights of others; and even prevents them from removing their products from Temu's website after they have admitted to infringement. These are not the actions of a legitimate third-party ‘marketplace,’” Shein states. “Temu is no garden-variety infringer,” the complaint continues. “In order to advertise the counterfeit versions of SHEIN products, Temu has reproduced virtually identical copyrighted images of SHEIN products and used them, or instructed sellers to use them, as promotional images on the Temu website and mobile application.” Shein has long been accused—by major fashion brands and small independent artists alike—of blatant theft of their designs. The company has been sued by brands including Dr. Martens, Ralph Lauren, Levi Strauss, Puma, Adidas, and H&M for copying their work, while indie artists are often forced to just accept that their designs will be ripped off by fast fashion companies, including Shein, or hope that their fans will boycott buying “dupes” for extremely cheap prices on Shein and Temu. This makes Shein’s claims in this lawsuit quite rich. It accuses Temu of the same undercutting that it’s done to designers for years. The 80-page complaint includes images it claims are proof of Temu’s theft of Shein’s designs:  Via complaint  Via complaint Shein also claims that Temu is impersonating it on Twitter, and using Shein tags on its own items. “Temu draws U.S. consumers into downloading and using its mobile application with promises of extremely low pricing. But Temu is not profiting from the sale of these products, which are priced so low that Temu must subsidize each sale, losing money on every transaction,” the complaint continues. “Only by encouraging its sellers to infringe the intellectual property rights of others and sell counterfeit or sub-standard goods can Temu hope to minimize the massive losses it is subsidizing.” The two fast fashion retailers have a long history of sparring in court. In 2023, Temu sued Shein, alleging “mafia-style intimidation” of manufacturers. “Shein recently has gone so far as to falsely imprison merchants doing business with Temu, including detaining merchant representatives in Shein’s offices for many hours while Shein confiscates the merchants’ electronic devices, obtains access to proprietary Temu information through the merchants’ seller accounts, and threatens the merchants with penalties for doing business with Temu,” Temu’s complaint claimed. That case is ongoing. Temu made similar allegations in a lawsuit earlier that year, and in March 2023, Shein accused Temu of contracting social-media influencers to make "false and deceptive statements" against Shein. Both of those cases were dismissed. Shein is requesting a trial by jury. Shein and Temu did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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