Queensland based fashion label Sabo Skirt has filed a lawsuit in Australia’s Federal Court against 16 companies, including Shein and Kmart, alleging widespread copying of its clothing designs, prints, patterns, and trademarks. The case was filed alongside Larry and Luke, the company that holds the associated intellectual property rights, and marks one of the most sweeping design protection actions taken by an independent Australian fashion brand in recent memory.
The lawsuit covers 36 distinct garments, prints, sketches, and patterns that Sabo Skirt alleges were either wholly or substantially copied by the defendants, who sold imitations at lower prices and with inferior quality materials.
Shein Faces the Most High Profile Allegations
Shein’s Australian division is listed as the first respondent in the lawsuit and is alleged to have infringed the designs, prints, or copyrights of six separate items. Among the specific examples cited, one involves a Shein garment that allegedly mirrors…
a Sabo Skirt design featuring scallop tiles on a white backdrop adorned with red grapes, pears, and white flowers. Another claim targets a Shein dress allegedly replicating distinctive features, including a V split at the center bustline and cut outs at the waist.
Adding weight to the case, the statement of claim reveals that Shein had already entered into a settlement regarding one item, a multicolored knit dress, in June 2024, but allegedly violated that agreement by continuing to market the dress after the settlement was reached.
A Shein spokesperson acknowledged the allegations and said the company takes all intellectual property claims seriously, but declined to comment further due to ongoing legal proceedings.
Kmart and Billy J Also Named Kmart is accused of infringing Sabo Skirt’s Shoreline print, which features aquatic elements including lobsters, shells, and leaves in varying orientations against a white background, and of using that print across multiple garments…
Discussion
0 Comments
No comments yet
Start the conversation
Share your take on this story and help shape the discussion.
Sign in to join the discussion.