Shein loses UK copyright lawsuit against rival Temu in key e-commerce ruling

Shein had accused Temu of breaching its copyright "on an industrial scale", arguing at a trial in May that Temu – owned by PDD Holdings PDD.O – used photos of Shein's own-brand clothing to "piggy-back" on a more established competitor.

Judge Kelyn Bacon rejected Shein's arguments that Temu infringed Shein's copyright and said that, even if it had infringed, Temu would not be liable.

Shein had initially argued that Temu reproduced Shein's photos, but did not pursue that at the trial as Temu's servers are outside the United Kingdom and any reproduction was outside the UK, Bacon said in her ruling.

A Shein spokesperson said there was no dispute that Shein owned the thousands of photos it had sued over and that they had appeared on Temu's website.

"Yet despite copying on an industrial scale, it has avoided liability in the UK simply because the servers supporting its UK website happen to sit in Ireland," the spokesperson said. Temu did not immediately comment.