Fashion Lawsuits Last Week: Dupes, Fines, and Trials

Fashion lawsuits this week span a jury verdict clearing Quince in UGG’s dupe case, a fresh Louis Vuitton counterfeiting suit against a Maryland casino, a Chanel win over an upcycler in Paris, new trademark complaints against Nordstrom and Target, a two-week Shein–Temu copyright trial in London, and roughly €22 million in French consumer-law fines against Shein. Several older matters, including the Hermès Birkin antitrust appeal and Chanel’s fight with The RealReal, also moved forward.

Quince Beats Deckers in the UGG Dupe Trial

On June 15, 2026, a federal jury in the Northern District of California returned a verdict for Quince in the nearly three-year design patent case brought by Deckers Outdoor Corporation, UGG’s parent. The dispute centered on Quince’s “Australian Shearling Mini Boot” and U.S. Design Patent No. D927,161, which covers the UGG Classic Ultra Mini.¹

By trial, only the design patent claim remained. Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín allowed Quince to run a “dupe culture” defense, and CEO Siddhartha Gupta testified that the company used a manufacturer producing similar styles for multiple brands and referred to UGG only as shorthand for the product type. The jury found Quince’s boot did infringe but that the patent itself was invalid because it covered commonplace features of short sheepskin footwear, leaving Deckers with no damages or relief.¹

Louis Vuitton Sues a Maryland Casino Over Its “Art of Luxury” Giveaway

Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A.S. filed suit on June 3, 2026, against PPE Casino Resorts Maryland (doing business as Live! Casino & Hotel) and The Cordish Companies in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, No. 1:26-cv-02160. The complaint says the casino’s April 2026 loyalty promotion, “The Art of Luxury,” handed out handbags, backpacks, totes, and toiletry cases replicating Louis Vuitton’s monogram and floral designs with the “LV” initials swapped for “Live!”²³

After a mid-April cease-and-desist letter, the casino ran a second promotion in May, “Endless Elegance,” offering purportedly authentic Louis Vuitton products as prizes. The complaint alleges trademark counterfeiting, infringement, false association, dilution, and unfair competition. Louis Vuitton is seeking up to $2 million per counterfeit mark per type of goods, plus destruction of infringing merchandise and corrective advertising.⁴²

Chanel Wins a Paris Upcycling Case

A Paris court ruled for Chanel in late May 2026 in a trademark infringement case against Kamad Reworked, a French company that incorporated Chanel-branded buttons, hardware, and other “CC” components into new jewelry. The court held that selling the repurposed items infringed Chanel’s trademarks even though the original components were authentic.⁵

Kamad Reworked argued that the “exhaustion of rights” doctrine applied because the parts had already entered the market. The court rejected that defense, finding the components had been transformed into different products never placed on the market with Chanel’s consent. It also called Kamad Reworked’s “certificates of authenticity” a misleading commercial practice and said its disclaimers did not prevent consumer confusion.⁶

Chanel was awarded a provisional payment of €75,000, below the €500,000 it had sought, along with injunctive relief requiring disclosure of all sales data and destruction of remaining infringing stock.⁵

Chrome Hearts Sues Nordstrom Over Cross Designs

Chrome Hearts LLC filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Nordstrom, Inc. on June 4, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 2:26-cv-06078. The complaint alleges Nordstrom manufactured and sold belts and jewelry featuring cross-shaped motifs “almost identical” to Chrome Hearts’ federally registered “CH Cross” and “CH Plus” designs.⁷⁸

The core legal question is whether the cross designs function as source identifiers or as decorative elements any company can use. Chrome Hearts says the designs have identified the brand for decades and that Nordstrom’s use across stores, its website, and social media causes consumer confusion. The case is in its early stages.⁸

Glow Recipe Adds Target to Its MCoBeauty Dupe Suit

On June 5, 2026, Glow Recipe (operating as Aramara Beauty) filed an amended complaint in the Southern District of New York, No. 1:25-cv-04808, adding Target as a defendant alongside the Australian brand MCoBeauty. The suit alleges MCoBeauty’s “Ultra-Dew Serum” is a knockoff of Glow Recipe’s Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops.⁹

Beyond traditional trade dress claims, Glow Recipe alleges MCoBeauty and Target used an integrated digital strategy to trade on the brand’s reputation. According to the complaint, MCoBeauty bought search advertising against “Glow Recipe” and related keywords to intercept shoppers, and both defendants used product imagery, social media content, and metadata to steer consumers toward the competing product. The theory targets the digital marketing ecosystem rather than only the visual comparison between two bottles.⁹¹⁰

Shein and Temu Go to Trial in London

A two-week trial between Shein and Temu opened on May 11, 2026, at London’s High Court. Shein alleges “industrial-scale” copyright infringement, saying Temu reused roughly 2,300 product photographs created by Shein employees to advertise identical or similar clothing.¹¹

Temu has dropped its defense on those specific images and is pursuing an antitrust counterclaim, arguing Shein is using litigation to suppress competition. Both sides seek damages. Shein first sued in 2023 and Temu countersued in 2024. Parallel cross-litigation is pending in U.S. federal court in Washington, D.C., where surviving claims include trade dress infringement, copyright infringement, and unfair competition.¹²¹¹

France Fines Shein About €22 Million

On June 3, 2026, France’s Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) issued roughly €22 million in fines against Shein. About €16.7 million was for failing to include required information such as order price, seller’s name, and delivery time in order confirmation emails. Another €5.7 million was for not honoring the 14-day right of withdrawal and failing to provide required environmental information for certain products.¹³¹⁴

Shein called the fines “manifestly disproportionate and discriminatory” and said it will contest both. The penalties stem from 2025 investigations and add to European actions that include an ongoing Digital Services Act investigation by the European Commission and a separate Italian probe into misleading environmental claims.¹³

Other Cases Moving This Week

A cluster of older matters saw filings, rulings, or trial scheduling worth tracking:

Lululemon sued Costco in the Central District of California, alleging the retailer sold replicas of its SCUBA hoodies, DEFINE jackets, and ABC pants, with design patent claims tied to specific stitching and design elements.¹⁵
Hermès filed its answering brief on May 20, 2026, in the Ninth Circuit appeal over the dismissed Birkin antitrust class action. The lower court dismissed the case with prejudice in September 2025, holding that reserving sought-after bags for top-spending customers does not, on its own, violate antitrust law. Hermès told the appeals court plaintiffs failed to allege harm to overall competition and denied any mandatory purchase requirement for Birkin buyers. The appeal is pending.¹⁶¹⁷
In Chanel v. The RealReal, Judge Vernon S. Broderick in March 2026 dismissed most of the resale platform’s antitrust counterclaims as time-barred or lacking allegations of market-wide harm, while allowing the “unclean hands” defense to stand. The case, active since 2018, is moving toward trial on Chanel’s trademark infringement and unfair competition claims after unsuccessful settlement talks.¹⁸
Breitling and Chanel are trading oppositions before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board over rights to “Premiere” for watches. Chanel says it has used “Première” for timepieces since 1987; Breitling says its use of “Premier” dates to the 1940s. In a May 2026 filing, Chanel asserted that Breitling “has never used and can claim no rights” in the term.¹⁹
The Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in February 2026 opposing a proposed class action settlement in Alcazar v. Fashion Nova Inc., which alleges the retailer’s website is inaccessible to blind users under the ADA. The DOJ argued the proposed injunctive relief was a “mere recitation” of existing legal obligations and noted the settlement claims website itself was inaccessible to people with vision disabilities. An evidentiary hearing was scheduled for March 30, 2026.²⁰
A civil RICO suit filed by three independent designers against Shein in the Central District of California is moving forward. A federal judge denied most of Shein’s motion to dismiss, ruling that copyright infringement facilitated by an algorithm can serve as a predicate act under the racketeering statute.²¹²²

1
The Fashion Law. Deckers v. Quince: A Timeline of the UGG Dupe Battle
2
CBS News. Louis Vuitton Sues Maryland Live! Casino Over Promotion
3
The Fashion Law. Louis Vuitton Sues Live! Casino Over Allegedly Infringing Bag Promotion
4
Fox Baltimore. Louis Vuitton v. PPE Casino Resorts Maryland Complaint
5
The Fashion Law. Chanel Secures Win in Case Testing the Limits of Luxury Upcycling
6
Managing IP. Upcycling Defence Falls Short in Chanel Trademark Dispute
7
Bloomberg Law. Luxury Brand Chrome Hearts Accuses Nordstrom of Counterfeiting
8
The Fashion Law. Chrome Hearts v. Nordstrom: When Does Decoration Become a Brand
9
The Fashion Law. Looking Beyond the Dupe: Glow Recipe Expands Fight Against MCoBeauty
10
Marks & Clerk. Beauty Dupes: Why Brands Need to Think Beyond the Box
11
Novadata. Shein Temu UK Copyright Trial
12
Bloomberg Government. Shein, Temu Trade Blows as UK Trial Spotlights Supply Chains
13
Reuters. France Fines Shein 22 Million
14
Le Monde. Shein Hit With New 22 Million Fines by French Fraud Authorities
15
Global Legal Post. What to Watch in 2026: Key US Fashion, Apparel and Beauty Cases
16
Vogue. Hermès Wins Birkin Antitrust Case: Why It Matters
17
The Fashion Law. Hermès Urges Ninth Circuit to Reject Appeal Over Birkin Antitrust Lawsuit
18
PYMNTS. Court Rejects Antitrust Allegations in Luxury Dispute Between Chanel and The RealReal
19
The Fashion Law. Inside Breitling and Chanel’s Escalating Battle Over Premiere
20
U.S. Department of Justice. Department of Justice Opposes Unfair Class Action Settlement Involving Accessibility of Website
21
CBS News. Shein Lawsuit RICO Sued Case
22
Michelson IP. Unusual Suspect: A RICO Claim Against Fast Fashion Company Shein