Shein, the fast fashion retailer, is facing a lawsuit that accuses the company of engaging in an elaborate operation to steal intellectual property from designers, both established and emerging.
The lawsuit also alleges that Shein employs a complex corporate structure to evade legal consequences for these actions.
According to The Fashion Law, independent designers Krista Perry, Larissa Martinez, and Jay Baron have accused Shein of “produc[ing], distribut[ing], and selling exact copies of their creative works,” claiming its actions are “part and parcel of Shein’s ‘design’ process and organizational DNA.”
The lawsuit against Shein asserts that the company employs a “secretive algorithm” to identify emerging fashion trends and deliberately produces a limited quantity of potentially stolen items. This strategy is allegedly designed to handle infringement allegations swiftly and efficiently.
“When Shein copies a small or independent designer, the most likely outcome (without brand protection specialists and specialized software on the lookout) is that the infringement will go unnoticed,” the complaint reads.
Additionally, Shein is said to create more of the product if demand is great as long as there is no risk of infringement.
According to the plaintiffs, Shein allegedly employs a decentralized structure and a multitude of entities to evade responsibility for intellectual property infringement when faced with cease and desist letters or lawsuits.
The lawsuit alleges that Shein falsely attributes responsibility to independent companies when, in fact, the entities accused of wrongdoing are connected to Shein.
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