The complaint was filed Tuesday in federal court in California on behalf of three designers who said they were “shocked” and “outraged” to see their products faithfully copied and sold by the Chinese fast-fashion retailer.<\/p>\n
The reproduced products were not “close” copies, where the designs are interpreted with some liberties, but were “truly exact copies of the copyrighted graphic design” that was sold by Shein, according to the suit. The company allegedly engages in a pattern of copyright infringement as part of its effort to produce 6,000 new articles every day for its millions of customers. That’s a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n
“Shein has enriched himself by committing individual violations time and time again, as part of a long and ongoing pattern of abuse, which shows no signs of abating,” the lawsuit alleges. <\/p>\n
Shein is the world’s largest fashion retailer with annual sales of nearly $30 billion, more than H&M and Zara combined, the lawsuit notes.<\/p>\n
A company representative told CBS MoneyWatch that it does not comment on pending litigation. <\/p>\n
“Characteristically Evil”<\/h2>\n
One of the designers who is suing Shein, Krista Perry of Worcester, Massachusetts, discovered copies of a graphic poster with the words “Make It Fun” for sale on Shein and a sister site, Romwe.com. Perry complained to Shein via their website’s contact forms about the copying, describing it as “incredibly disheartening, insulting and downright mean to take advantage of artists without their knowledge or permission.”<\/p>\n
Shein responded with an offer of $500. “Shein made his offer as if it were a mom-and-pop operation rather than one of the wealthiest companies in the world,” the suit alleges.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of three designers, including Krista Perry, whose “Make It Fun” poster (left) was allegedly copied exactly by Shein (right). When Perry reached out to complain, Shein offered her $500, according to the lawsuit. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Aimee Peaks<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The lawsuit claims that Shein’s pattern, when accused of copyright infringement, is to claim he had low sales and blame a third-party organization for the theft. <\/p>\n “Shein will also offer an apology and a vague explanation that makes it seem like this was an anomaly; somehow Shein crossed the wires and produced a very small number of exact copies of the designer’s products,” al\u00b7 read the demand “[N]One time out of 10, the designer’s advisor will accept what is offered or negotiate a little more.”<\/p>\n The other two designers, Jay Baron of Burbank, California, and Larissa Blintz of Los Angeles, also alleged that their designs were copied exactly by Shein. Baron created an artwork called “Trying My Best,” which was allegedly copied and sold by Shein, while Martinez’s “Orange Daisies” outfit was also copied.<\/p>\n ![\"make-it-fun-artwork.jpg](\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2023\/07\/13\/de316646-876b-438f-ac95-1e6639b0f903\/thumbnail\/620x320\/17cad5a176d5f5fa6b87afeda5b6e1ee\/make-it-fun-artwork.jpg?v=b9ad248140817530b57bedd1355bcccb)
![\"trying-my-best.png](\"https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2023\/07\/13\/569fccbf-1af7-4a5c-8228-3a22e3f135f1\/thumbnail\/620x182\/7d0d6faa3b6c26591cf4b7c63a3d6654\/trying-my-best.png?v=b9ad248140817530b57bedd1355bcccb)