Shein has been accused of breaking its own legal settlements and continuing to sell lookalike goods despite vowing to stop.
The fast fashion retailer has been branded as a “repeat counterfeiter” by sports equipment giant Oakley in a new legal filing, which accused Shein of continuing to sell glasses that copied its designs despite it agreeing to stop in 2022.
Although the Singapore-based company did not file a response to the complaint, it is now finalising its second legal settlement with the sports brand in two years, the filings said.
According to The Financial Times, at least 10 companies have sued the retailer multiple times with the Shein having now faced almost 100 copyright cases in total.
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Shein has repeatedly denied the allegations, claiming it heavily invests in systems that detect copyright breaches in its supply chain.
The persistent allegations come as the fashion giant pursues a US IPO.
Shein insisted it “takes all claims of infringement seriously” and that it is “continually investing” in its review process.
The business said the pace of new legal cases it faced had dropped from its peak, pointing out that third-party vendors selling on the platform were “required to comply with company policy and certify their products do not infringe third-party IP”.
It also commented this week that it held a “zero-tolerance policy” to forced labour, was “committed to respecting human rights” and was “working closely with industry peers and policymakers” to help improve the controversial import tax rules.
The retailer was valued at over £47bn in its latest private fundraising, and filed a confidential preliminary prospectus with regulators in 2023.
Despite this, the deal is being scrutinised by regulators and lawmakers.
The ecommerce giant said IP infringement was an issue across the fashion industry and that it was “committed to driving industry-wide advancement”.
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