Shein Sues Temu For Copyright Infringement After First Suing Them For Intimidation In Fast Fashion Face-Off
It's a fast fashion fight.
Shein is suing its fashion rival Temu for copyright infringement, according to 'CNBC.'
The lawsuit in question accuses Temu of "masquerading" as a legitimate marketplace, alleging that "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."
"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 lawsuit added.
This hypocrisy of the suit is not lost on Temu. A company spokesperson said "The audacity is unbelievable" in a statement to 'TIME.' Shein is currently on the receiving end of several lawsuits regarding this exact topic. Per 'Fashion Dive,' Shein, which was founded in China but now based in Singapore, have been sued by both independent designers and established brands, including H&M and Uniqlo.
"SHEIN, buried under its own mountain of IP lawsuits, has the nerve to fabricate accusations against others for the very misconduct they're repeatedly sued for," the statement added.
Furthermore, Temu has sued Shein in the past. The lawsuit pointed to Shein's alleged "mafia-style intimidation of suppliers" which allegedly strong-armed many into exclusive agreements with the retailer. Shein shot back, accusing Temu of directly stealing "trade secrets" from them.
Shein stated, "Armed with this stolen information, Temu then directed its sellers to copy those and other best-selling Shein products and sell knock-off versions on Temu's website and mobile application. Temu is no garden-variety infringer. 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."
They also allege that Temu is using illegal tactics to lie to customers to suggest that their products are a higher quality than those from Shein.
"To further deceive consumers, Temu has instructed its paid social media influencers to falsely claim that Temu products which are often counterfeits of Shein products are cheaper and of higher quality than genuine Shein goods. Temu has gone to great lengths to imitate Shein, including by poaching resources, employees, and suppliers from Shein," the suit claims.
Both retail sites — who racks up billions of revenue annually, per 'TIME' — are among the fastest growing companies that ships to America, reportedly sending nearly one million packages a day to consumers. Temu and Shein's apps are frequently the most-downloaded apps in the Apple App Store.
