British bootmaker, Dr Martens, is launching a trademark lawsuit against Chinese marketplace, Temu.
In a report in The Sunday Times, it was revealed that the footwear company has filed a case in the British High Court, which alleges that Temu has been paying to promote keywords including Dr. Martens” and “Airwair” in certain markets.
This, it argues, is a bid to get lookalike products to appear above the genuine articles in Google searches. Retail Week reports: “While Google’s advertising policies prohibit trademark infringement, they do allow them to use trademarks as keywords.”
This isn’t the first time that the bootmaker has taken on a fast fashion brand for copyright infringement. It took on Zoetop Business Co., which does business as Shein and sister retailer Romwe in the US, in November 2020. That case pointed to 26 products that it claimed were infringing its designs. In 2019, it also launched a lawsuit against BooHoo Group Inc., Nasty Gal Ltd. and PrettyLittleThing.com Ltd over designs and trademark infringement.
The case comes at a time when there is dissent amongst the ranks of Dr Martens’ investors. Investment firm, Marathon Partners Equity Management, which owns more than five million shares of Dr Martens’ common stock has written a letter urging the company’s board of directors to look at the potential sale of the business amongst other options to begin evaluating “alternatives for the business with the goal of maximising shareholder value.”
