Shein has lost its copyright case against Temu in the High Court in London. In a judgment published on 13 August, Mrs Justice Bacon dismissed Shein’s claims that Temu was liable for Shein product photographs that appeared on Temu’s UK platform, and upheld Temu’s counterclaim over takedown notices Shein had filed against it.
Shein’s ownership of the photos was not in dispute. At trial earlier this year, it accused Temu of copying on an “astonishing” scale, Bloomberg reported.
Why the claim failed
According to Bloomberg, Temu avoided liability partly because the servers behind its UK website are in Ireland, which put that part of the case outside the reach of UK copyright law.
On the question of authorisation, the court found that Temu had not authorised infringement by the third-party sellers who uploaded the images, according to law firm Walker Morris. The judge noted that Temu prohibits infringement in its supplier terms and runs a takedown and reporting system. There was no evidence it encouraged or approved infringing uploads, even though it knew some sellers might post them.
Shein said Temu escaped liability only because of where its servers happen to be, and that the result was not right for brands and rights holders.
The counterclaim
Temu argued that Shein had used takedown notices to remove thousands of its product listings. The court agreed, and Shein must pay damages to Whaleco UK, Temu’s British entity. The amount will be decided at a later hearing. The ruling landed shortly before Shein’s planned Hong Kong listing, and the two groups also compete for the same suppliers and production networks.
Shein went to court to stop copying and came out owing its rival for being too quick with the takedown button.
What to watch
- The damages hearing on Temu’s counterclaim.
- The Competition Appeal Tribunal trial on whether Shein deliberately tried to undermine Temu’s ability to compete in UK ultra-fast fashion.
- Whether Shein seeks to appeal.
