Shein is now copying Temu’s copyright lawsuit

The Shein ailment astir Temu kicks disconnected with a bang, accusing Temu of being “an unlawful endeavor built connected counterfeiting, theft of commercialized secrets, infringement of intelligence spot rights, and fraud” successful conscionable the archetypal sentence. But I conjecture you person to spell large erstwhile the suit against you accuses you of utilizing “Mafia-style” intimidation tactics.

It gets worse, Shein alleges. Temu isn’t a marketplace astatine all. “It controls each facet of its seller’s activity,” the ailment says. “It directs what products they tin database and the prices for which they tin sell; encourages them to infringe the intelligence spot rights of others; and adjacent prevents them from removing their products from Temu’s website aft they person admitted to infringement.” I would similar to beryllium clear: I americium inactive successful the archetypal paragraph of this complaint, a paragraph which uses bitchy scare-quotes astir each incidence of calling Temu a “marketplace.”

This is conscionable the latest sally successful the ongoing ineligible wrangling betwixt the 2 bargain retailers. They’ve sent each different ineligible nastygrams before: Temu accused Shein of browbeating manufacturers to chopped Temu off, Shein claimed Temu told influencers to accidental “false and deceptive statements” about Shein successful promotional material. Those 2 suits were dropped successful October. Then, successful December, Temu sued Shein again, alleging that Shein had “gone truthful acold arsenic to falsely imprison merchants doing concern with Temu.” 

Shein besides has a estimation for ripping disconnected autarkic designers, truthful its accusations that Temu is “built connected counterfeiting” is truly something. Shein began selling successful the US successful 2017, and was followed by Temu successful 2022, arsenic portion of a contention to the bottommost from online retailers including Amazon. When Temu followed Shein into the US, Shein’s valuation dropped by much than $30 billion, Temu alleged successful its December lawsuit. In December 2023, Temu sold 3 times arsenic much arsenic Shein successful the US. Both are utilizing a commercialized loophole, the de minimus exception, that means packages worthy little than $800 entering the US from China are duty-free.

“This relentless pursuit of debased prices is cardinal to its concern exemplary and competitory strategy but its debased prices are achieved by immoderate means,” Shein writes of Temu successful its suit today. I wonderment who other we could accidental that about!

Among Temu’s alleged tactics:

Shein itself is facing a people enactment suit alleging that it’s engaged successful “industrial-scale strategy of systematic, integer copyright infringement of the enactment of tiny designers and artists.” It has besides been sued by For Love and Lemons, H&M, Levi Strauss, and Uniqlo, among others.