UNIQLO sues SHEIN for allegedly copying its shoulder bag

UNIQLO's owner Fast Retailing has filed a lawsuit against online fast-fashion marketplace SHEIN for selling replicas of its round mini shoulder bag.

According to Fast Retailing’s website, UNIQLO filed a lawsuit against Roadget Business, Fashion Choice and SHEIN JAPAN, operators of the retail brand SHEIN on 28 December 2023 in the Tokyo District Court. The Japanese apparel brand said that the sale of products took reference from the form of its round mini shoulder bag and this violates the Unfair Competition Prevention Act.

“The company filed this complaint because it has determined that the form of the limitation products sold by SHEIN closely resembles that of its own product, and that the sale of the imitation products by SHEIN significantly undermines the high level of customer confidence in the quality of the UNIQLO brand and its products,” the statement reads.

UNIQLO has demanded the immediate cessation of sales of the imitation products and compensation for damages incurred by the company as a result of these sales.

“Fast Retailing takes a resolute stance against any act that infringes on its intellectual property and will take appropriate measures in response, including legal action,” it said.

A check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw on SHEIN’s website that round shoulder bags that bear a resemblance to UNIQLO's were still available for purchase at the time of writing. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to UNIQLO and SHEIN for a statement.

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In fact, this is not the first time SHEIN gets involved in lawsuits related to copyright infringement. Back in July last year, Swedish retailer H&M sued SHEIN in Hong Kong for copyright infringement, according to court documents filed in Hong Kong.

H&M accused SHEIN of plagiarism and “stealing” the designs of its products, from swimwear to sweaters, in the lawsuit, which had reportedly been underway since July 2021. It stated in a court filing that there was a “striking resemblance between the products showing they must have been copied” and the “sheer scale of (SHEIN’s) unauthorised substantial reproduction of the copyright works”.

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