Three artists accuse a fast fashion clothing brand shein to use an AI-based algorithm to spot trendy designs and commit widespread intellectual property theft in conjunction with a disorienting corporate structure that allowed the $66 billion company to avoid legal repercussions.
Tuesday, July 11, visual artists Krista Perry, Larissa Martinez – otherwise known as “Larissa Blintz” – and Jay Baron filed suit against the Chinese online retailer in federal court in California, alleging that Shein and its related entities Roadget Business and Zoetop Business Company are using a “byzantine game of corporate structure” in order to circumvent legal consequences for stealing the original work artists.
“Shein’s design algorithm couldn’t work without generating the kinds of exact copies that can greatly harm a freelance designer’s career – especially because Shein’s artificial intelligence is smart enough to hijack pieces with greatest commercial potential,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit highlights several instances in which the clothing brand “produced, distributed, and sold exact copies of its creative work” — a decision that “is integral to Shein’s ‘design’ process and organizational DNA. “. This so-called design process, according to the plaintiffs, is partly carried out via an elaborate algorithm that identifies fashion trends for the brand to then reverse engineer and sell through its own store.
The dossier describes the artists’ experiences leading up to the lawsuit. In Perry’s case, the Massachusetts-based illustrator and printmaker claims she was led through a dizzying maze of various email addresses and then offered an informal $500 settlement after complaining to the brand for ripping off his “Make it Fun” print.
“I noticed that Shein was selling my work as both wall art and phone cases without my permission or approval. It is incredibly disheartening, insulting and downright evil to profit from artists without their knowledge or permission” , said Perry, quoted in the lawsuit.
Perry’s work was reportedly targeted by the company again in 2020, when it says Shein duplicated its “Floral Bloom” textile piece. Shortly after putting the cover up for sale, the Massachusetts designer claims the company released its own counterfeit version on its own platform.
Shein did not respond to Hyperallergicrequest for comment.
Blintz, who runs Los Angeles-based clothing brand Miracle Eye, says she fell victim to a similar scheme when the clothing company allegedly replicated her copyrighted overall “Orange Daisies” design. Similarly, Shein is also accused of copying Baron’s “Trying My Best” patch design which he originally created in 2016 and copyrighted a year later.
“I was overwhelmed when I first saw Shein’s version of my work. How come they copied me exactly, even the precise layout? I thought it must have been some kind of confusion,” Baron said. Hyperallergic by email. “Now, of course, I’ve learned that’s just what they do – and in the process they ruined one of my best designs, one I’m proud of.”
Besides copyright infringement and intellectual property theft, the plaintiffs specifically point to the Racketeering and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to denounce Shein’s “multiplicity of entities to avoid liability”. The federal law was passed in 1970 as a subsection of the Organized Crime Control Act. In the lawsuit, the artists argue that the apparel company’s “de facto association of entities” that facilitates “criminal offense and other racketeering activity” directly violates RICO statute.
“With so many entities, Shein can always name someone or something else as responsible for any wrong he is accused of,” said attorney David Erikson of Erickson Law Group. Hyperallergic.
“If you accuse them of copying, they claim it was an independent designer, or even an independent seller in their marketplace. They do it informally, but they also do it in court, and that has proven to be effective in reducing the settlement amounts they have to pay.
This isn’t the first time the fast fashion giant has faced allegations of intellectual property theft. In the past three years alone, the apparel company has faced at least 50 federal lawsuits related to trademark or copyright infringement, according to an investigation by the the wall street journal.
Shein also recently made headlines for hosting a handpicked influencer tour by one of its factories. The company has been charged with several other offences, including deliberate tax evasion, multiple violations of human rights and labor practices, environmental damageAnd goods contaminated with lead and other hazardous chemicals – which were also in Tuesday’s filing.
