The
Shein
complaint
about
Temu
kicks
off
with
a
bang,
accusing
Temu
of
being
“an
unlawful
enterprise
built
on
counterfeiting,
theft
of
trade
secrets,
infringement
of
intellectual
property
rights,
and
fraud”
in
just
the
first
sentence.
But
I
guess
you
have
to
go
big
when
the
lawsuit
against
you
accuses
you
of
using
“Mafia-style”
intimidation
tactics.
It
gets
worse,
Shein
alleges.
Temu
isn’t
a
marketplace
at
all.
“It
controls
every
aspect
of
its
seller’s
activity,”
the
complaint
says.
“It
directs
what
products
they
can
list
and
the
prices
for
which
they
can
sell;
encourages
them
to
infringe
the
intellectual
property
rights
of
others;
and
even
prevents
them
from
removing
their
products
from
Temu’s
website
after
they
have
admitted
to
infringement.”
I
would
like
to
be
clear:
I
am
still
in
the
first
paragraph
of
this
complaint,
a
paragraph
which
uses
bitchy
scare-quotes
around
every
incidence
of
calling
Temu
a
“marketplace.”
Pretty
intense
beef
over
who
can
sell
$5
skirts
This
is
just
the
latest
sally
in
the
ongoing
legal
wrangling
between
the
two
bargain
retailers.
They’ve
sent
each
other
legal
nastygrams
before:
Temu
accused
Shein
of
browbeating
manufacturers
to
cut
Temu
off,
Shein
claimed
Temu
told
influencers
to
say
“false
and
deceptive
statements”
about
Shein
in
promotional
material.
Those
two
suits
were
dropped
in
October.
Then,
in
December,
Temu
sued
Shein
again,
alleging
that
Shein
had
“gone
so
far
as
to
falsely
imprison
merchants
doing
business
with
Temu.”
Pretty
intense
beef
over
who
can
sell
$5
skirts,
if
you
ask
me.
Shein
also
has
a
reputation
for
ripping
off
independent
designers,
so
its
accusations
that
Temu
is
“built
on
counterfeiting”
is
really
something.
Shein
began
selling
in
the
US
in
2017,
and
was
followed
by
Temu
in
2022,
as
part
of
a
race
to
the
bottom
from
online
retailers
including
Amazon.
When
Temu
followed
Shein
into
the
US,
Shein’s
valuation
dropped
by
more
than
$30
billion,
Temu
alleged
in
its
December
lawsuit.
In
December
2023,
Temu
sold
three
times
as
much
as
Shein
in
the
US.
Both
are
using
a
trade
loophole,
the
de
minimus
exception,
that
means
packages
worth
less
than
$800
entering
the
US
from
China
are
duty-free.
“This
relentless
pursuit
of
low
prices
is
central
to
its
business
model
and
competitive
strategy
but
its
low
prices
are
achieved
by
any
means,”
Shein
writes
of
Temu
in
its
lawsuit
today.
I
wonder
who
else
we
could
say
that
about!
Among
Temu’s
alleged
tactics:
Shein
itself
is
facing
a
class
action
lawsuit
alleging
that
it’s
engaged
in
“industrial-scale
scheme
of
systematic,
digital
copyright
infringement
of
the
work
of
small
designers
and
artists.”
It
has
also
been
sued
by
For
Love
and
Lemons,
H&M,
Levi
Strauss,
and
Uniqlo,
among
others.
(Originally posted by Elizabeth Lopatto)
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