Fast fashion plays fast and loose with IP rights

08-07-2021

Emmy Hunt

Fast fashion plays fast and loose with IP rights

Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com

Legal action by the owners of Dr Martens against online fashion retailer Shein is a reminder for rights owners to act promptly when compromised online, says Emmy Hunt of Potter Clarkson.

Shein is a leading fashion e-commerce site that dominates the ultra-fast fashion market, competing with brands such as Boohoo, Missguided and Fashion Nova. The market has seen enormous growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Europe, the US and the Middle East.

A key feature of these operators is that they provide thousands of new fashion lines each month, all sold cheaply, and use data analytics to identify product lines that reflect the demands of the local market, predicting the most popular styles, colours and fabrics.

Shein uses its in-house team to design and create prototype products, made ready for production within days by hundreds of factories with whom they work.


Copyright, trademarks, e-commerce, lawsuit, Shein, boohoo, missguided, fashion nova, fast fashion, dr martens, airwair international

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