Online retail giant SHEIN sues rival Temu for copyright infringement

SHEIN, a leading online marketplace and fast fashion company, has filed a lawsuit against fellow Chinese marketplace platform Temu for copyright infringement, alleging that Temu has stolen its designs and is 'masquerading as a legitimate marketplace.'

Shein Is Suing Temu For Copyright Infringement

Shein sues Temu over copyright infringement, trade secret theft

SHEIN claims that Temu is an 'illegal enterprise built on counterfeiting, theft of trade secrets, intellectual property infringement, and fraud. Temu is only pretending to be a marketplace, but in reality it is Temu that presents the products and prices that can be sold, encourages the sale of products that infringe intellectual property rights, and has a system in place that does not allow products to be removed from the site even if they infringe copyrights. Temu is only pretending to be a 'marketplace.'

Temu touts its low prices when it launches the app, but SHEIN says it doesn't make any profit because it subsidizes each product it sells, and instead minimizes losses by selling rip-offs and products of lower quality than standard standards.

The lawsuit also alleges that Temu employees copied and sold SHEIN's best-selling products using information about best-selling products and prices stolen from SHEIN.

In addition, Temu tried to lure people into buying SHEIN products by running ads on social media pretending to be from SHEIN, and instructed influencers to falsely claim that the products were 'cheaper and higher quality than SHEIN.'

Temu has not commented on the matter.

SHEIN has also been sued by Temu for 'using intimidation tactics to illegally interfere with Temu's business.' It has also been sued by apparel manufacturers Levi Strauss & Co., H&M, and Uniqlo for allegedly stealing their designs.