The court clashes between Shein and Temu continue The last one concerns a lawsuit, filed in the UK, on ​​possible copyright infringement

Shein, a Chinese fast fashion company that has long been contested for its controversial business model, sued Temu, another Chinese e-commerce platform that in recent years has begun to invest in the Western market, focusing - in turn - on low prices and an aggressive advertising approach.

At the center of the litigation would be allegations of copyright infringement, unfair competition and unfair business practices. In particular, Shein claims that Temu used thousands of his own product images to advertise garments online, systematically and on a large scale. According to the prosecution, Temu exploited Shein's notoriety to accelerate his international expansion, avoiding investing in his own visual line.

Temu's reply

According to Temu, however, Shein would use aggressive tactics to limit competition: the cause, in short, would have nothing to do with the protection of intellectual property, but would serve to intimidate a competitor. This is not the first time that the two companies have clashed in court: in the past it was Temu herself who accused Shein of anti-competitive behavior, only to withdraw the proceedings by mutual agreement.

Temu also sought damages from Shein, after being forced to remove thousands of listings following an injunction obtained from the latter. Temu also accuses Shein of imposing exclusivity agreements on suppliers, a practice that could violate competition rules — this part of the proceedings, however, will be dealt with in court only next year.

Understanding the competition between Shein and Temu

Temu and Shein would not actually be direct competitors, at least on paper. Shein sells exclusively fashion products, including clothes, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, while Temu has a much larger catalog, which also includes electronics, games, furniture and household items. What the two realities have in common is aggressive communication, a commercial approach that focuses on convenience. For this reason, both companies have been accused of encouraging practices of exploiting workers and of generating a significant environmental impact, due to their super-fast production and their low prices.

Temu and Shein are growing rapidly, especially in the United States and Le nuovi leggi europee contro Shein, Temu e Aliexpress " target="_blank" rel="noopener">Europe, and the competition between the two has become increasingly intense. Also for this reason, the two companies have a long history of mutual lawsuits: for example, in the past Shein had accused Temu of having paid influencers to discredit her and of creating fake profiles on social networks to confuse consumers, leading them to believe that the two brands were the same thing.