Chinese brand and online retailer Shein has sued another Chinese company, Temu, for alleged copyright infringement. In a civil lawsuit filed in Washington, Shien accused the other fast-fashion giant of stealing his designs all the time. Shein itself is regularly accused of this by both big brands and independent designers.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C., while – as CNBC notes – Shein itself has been fending off similar allegations from a number of different brands and independent artists, including Levi Strauss and H&M.
In its complaint, Shein accuses It, which is owned by PDD Holdings, of “pretending” to be a legitimate online marketplace by encouraging its sellers to steal designs from other brands and then preventing them from removing products from the platform, even after admitting to infringement.
“Temu entices American consumers to download and use its mobile app by promising an exceptionally low price. However, Temu does not profit from the sale of these products, which are priced so low that Temu must subsidize each sale, losing money on each transaction,” the complaint said.
It went on to note that “only by encouraging its sellers to infringe the intellectual property rights of others and sell counterfeit or substandard goods can Temu hope to minimize the huge subsidies it incurs.”
“Impolite” and illegal actions
As CNBC notes, Shein and Temu have taken the retail industry by storm with their low prices and ability to respond to trends much faster than their competitors. Along the way, both companies have faced criticism for their labor practices, ties to the Chinese government and allegations of using other brands’ designs.
Shein and Temu, fighting over customers, have repeatedly filed lawsuits accusing each other. Last year, Temu sued Shein for alleged copyright infringement and accused it of using “mafia-style intimidation methods” to force suppliers to sign exclusivity agreements.
In the latest complaint, Shein accused Temu of “egregious” and illegal conduct. It said at least one Temu employee stole “valuable trade secrets” that helped identify Shein’s best-selling products, along with internal pricing information.
“With this stolen information, Temu then instructed its salespeople to copy Shein’s best-selling products and then sell the counterfeits on Temu’s website and mobile app,” the complaint said.
It further stated that “in order to advertise counterfeit versions of Shein products, Temu 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 app.”
Shein accuses Temu of impersonating them online
The company even goes so far as to claim that Temu was impersonating the Shein brand on social media site X (formerly Twitter) in an attempt to “mislead customers and redirect them from the Shein platform to the Temu platform.” At this point in the complaint, evidence is provided in the form of a screenshot of a Temu-sponsored Google ad that claims to be Shein in the header but has Temu in the web address.
“To further deceive consumers, Temu instructed its paid social media influencers to falsely claim that Temu products, which are often Shein counterfeits, were cheaper and higher quality than genuine Shein products,” the complaint said. “Temu made every effort to imitate Shein, including by stealing resources, employees, and suppliers.”
Shein’s 80-page complaint includes dozens of examples of clothes and designs it allegedly stole.
Among other things, Shein asked the court to enter judgment in the company’s favor and issue an injunction prohibiting Tein from using Shein’s confidential information.
Main image source: T. Schneider/Shutterstock