Uniqlo VS Shein: it’s all a(round) bag

If you have ever entered into an Uniqlo shop, you surely know about which bag we are talking about.

The hot-selling mini shoulder bag became the flagship product in the past year and – like always when it comes to fashion trends – it did not take long time before someone else took advantages from the same design idea. This time, it’s Shein, the China-founded, Singapore-based company.

In December 2023, Uniqlo filed a lawsuit in Tokyo District Court by Tokyo-based Fast Retailing Co., which operates Uniqlo stores, claiming damages of about 160 million yen ($1.1 million) suing the three companies that operate Shein, Roadget Business Pte, Fashion Choice Pte and Shein Japan Co.

According to Uniqlo allegations, the fast fashion giant clearly copied the mini-shoulder bag, replicating the shape of its Round Mini Shoulder Bag therefore infringing the fair Competition principles.

Considering the lack of registered design on the products, Uniqlo cited the relevant provisions of the Japan's Unfair Competition Prevention Act which defines “form” (or configuration) as including “the external and internal shape of goods and the pattern, color, gloss, and texture combined with such shape, which may be perceived by” – or indicate source to – “consumers.” (Article 2 (1)(iii) of the Unfair Competition Prevention Law prohibits the unauthorized sale or other use of “goods which imitate the configuration of another person’s [product].”)

Indeed, the Japan’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act disciplines conducts such as infringement of trade secrets, unfair use of a well-known trademark, misleading representation of the source of the goods, and imitation of the shape of a third party’s product, and states measures and compensation for the cases of unfair competition, in order to ensure fair competition in the market.

According to the unfair competition principle and jurisprudence, if UNIQLO wish to win the lawsuit, it has to prove that the SHEIN Companies count on the design of UNIQLO’s product to create their products, undermining the high level of customer confidence in the quality of the Uniqlo brand and its products. Which is everything but not easy, if you ever faced a lawsuit to affirm this kind of right.

At time of writing, the case is pending.

It’s immediately clear how the rod for the plaintiff in case of unfair competition violation is much higher than the case that involves design infringement case. Indeed, in the cases related to design infringement, the evidence is objectively represented by the comparison between the registered design with its copy-cat.

That said, this case is a good starting point to remind the importance of the design protection especially when it comes to flagship products. In other words, Fashion companies shall always file the design application earlier than the launch of a product, to be safe.

However, as we all know, the fashion goes too fast.