Fast fashion copyright battle continues as Shein granted appeal against Temu
Fast fashion retailer Shein has been granted permission to appeal against rival Temu in a first-of-its-kind copyright battle in the UK.
A judge confirmed in a hearing on Monday that Shein can challenge a judgement handed down last month in the Court of Appeal.
The judge said there were “compelling reasons” for the court to consider the appeal as it marks the first time a UK court has had to consider how rules regarding copyright apply to online marketplaces.
The fast fashion retailer originally brought the claim to the High Court in 2023 after sending a letter to Temu in June asking for 2,559 photographs to be removed, as the retailer claimed these were taken by its own employees, as well as freelancers, agencies or suppliers. Shein alleged Temu had used them without permission.
The online retailer argued the photographs were examples of “infringements of its copyright on a substantial scale”, and that Temu had presented the images as if they were the company’s own and did not make clear that images were posted by sellers, so it cannot swerve responsibility for copyright.
However, the judge, Mrs Justice Bacon, said in her judgment last month that Shein UK did not own the copyright of the employee photographs at the time it sent the letter to Temu, as the companies were employed by Shein UK’s Chinese counterpart, Guangzhou Shein.
The judge ruled that Temu suffered a loss when it had to remove “thousands” of product listings from its website following the letter and court proceedings.
On Monday, Shein UK argued the judge had not properly considered whether Temu was actually liable for how it publicly displays photographs on its website.
Michael Bloch, KC, representing Shein UK, said that unlike videos posted by users on YouTube which are clearly not owned by the site, Temu “made no mention of sellers and gave the impression that the products on sale were being supplied by Temu”.
Charlotte May KC, representing Whaleco UK, the company which runs Temu, said Shein UK’s points could have been raised at the original trial and the judge had not made any mistakes in her judgment.
“I consider Mr Bloch’s argument just about meets the threshold for real prospect of success for the purposes of permission to appeal,” Mrs Justice Bacon said.
“Given this is the first UK case to consider the application of a hosting defence to an online marketplace it seems to me a compelling reason for the Court of Appeal to consider this matter,” she said.
The judge also ordered that Shein UK publish a message on their supplier portal informing customers about the court’s original judgement, which should be pinned to the top of the page or reposted every week for six months.
Shein’s third IPO attempt
This follows Shein at the start of September listing in Hong Kong in a price-cut initial public offering (IPO) after two failed attempts in both London and New York.
Shein and Temu were contacted for comment.