ording to foreign media reports, SHEIN faced more than a dozen intellectual property lawsuits in the United States, accused of using AI to copy designs and sell them in the market at a cheaper price.
Krista Perry, a designer from Massachusetts, came across one of her designs while browsing the Shein application. The design was marketed as a poster, but she didn’t get her permission. After some time, she found that SHEIN had been profiting from another of her works, the carpet designed by flowers. Angry, she contacted the company to ask for an explanation, and the company offered to pay her $500 to calm her anger over plagiarism. But Perry, a young artist with 15,000 fans on Instagram, decided not to accept compensation and filed a lawsuit with two other designers who were also troubled by plagiarism.
Larissa Martinez, owner of Miracle Eye, a fashion company, and Jay Baron, founder of Retrograde Supply Co, an embroidery brand, are two other victims of SHEIN’s alleged plagiarism. They filed a lawsuit against Shein to demand compensation for selling “exact copies” of their works, which would violate the RICO Law. This law, passed in 1970, was originally formulated to combat organized violence and extortion by the American mafia, but it also applies to “serious copyright infringement”.
According to the lawsuit, Shein implemented an AI-based plan, intentionally infringing copyright, and hoped that no artist would notice. Specifically, Perry, Martinez and Barron “accused the company of using proprietary algorithms to find popular works of art and then using them in Shein’s own products without signing or paying the artist.” Maria of Grossman LLP explained.
At present, designers are seeking damages and hope that American courts will issue injunctions to prevent further plagiarism.
Shein issued a statement saying that all allegations of infringement will be taken seriously and action will be taken as soon as possible. “I will actively defend myself against this lawsuit and any unfounded claims.”
Post time: Sep-21-2023