Lululemon sues Costco for allegedly selling dupes of its clothes
Lululemon is suing Costco for allegedly infringing on its trademarks and design patents by selling dupes of its clothes.
The Vancouver-based athleticwear brand filed a lawsuit against the big-box retail giant in California on Friday, accusing it of ripping off patented designs to create and sell knock-offs of lululemon’s Scuba hoodies and sweatshirts, Define jackets, and ABC pants.
“There is even a hashtag ‘LululemonDupes’ on social media platforms such as TikTok that social media influencers use when promoting these copycat products,” reads the court documents. “The Infringing Products create an improper association with Plaintiffs’ authentic products.”
According to the lawsuit, some of the alleged copycat apparel is sold under the Costco private label, Kirkland, and others are manufactured by Danskin, Jockey and Spyder.
The court document contains photos of the alleged knock-offs, describing them as “confusingly similar” to lululemon’s apparel.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
“Defendant’s actions are likely to cause (and may have already caused) confusion, mistake, and deception among consumers as the origin, source, sponsorship, approval, and/or affiliation of Defendant and/or its products with Plaintiffs,” reads the lawsuit.
Lululemon claims the alleged dupes take advantage of its “reputation, goodwill and sweat equity.”
The lawsuit states that the brand sent cease-and-desist letters to Costco in an attempt to address the alleged knockoffs. It’s now calling on a California court to step in, demanding that the matter be brought to a jury trial.
Lululemon is also demanding that Costco remove any online or print advertising related to the alleged dupes and is asking the court to require the retailer to cover any lost profits.
Daily Hive has requested a response from Costco and will update this story accordingly when it receives a response.
Lululemon has been on the receiving end of a lawsuit in the past. In 2023, the brand was sued by Nike for alleged patent infringement related to shoe designs.