Online marketplace Temu, a direct competitor to fast-fashion retailer Shein, says it has filed a series of lawsuits against website domains that are “unlawfully doing business on its behalf.”
The company has filed suit against 20 website domains in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. It accuses them of using its trademarks to create domain names, fake apps, look-alike online marketplaces, fake coupon codes and other false promotions to mislead customers. The lawsuit involves websites such as temuapp.biz, temucouponcodes.com and temudeals.store, which Temu says violate its trademark and use its name without a license.
Temu explained that when customers shop on fake Temu websites and do not receive their orders or experience inadequate customer service, it negatively impacts the company.
Founded in September 2022 as a “sister company” to Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, Temu launched as a multi-segment marketplace that attributed its success to low prices, discounts and free shipping. The company is currently based in Dublin, Ireland, where it relocated its headquarters in May 2023.
This translated and edited post previously appeared on FashionUnited.uk.