Temu wants to be the one and only.
The Chinese e-commerce giant is suing seven different websites it claims have infringed on its trademarks.
The lawsuit has two types of alleged perpetrators: those accused of creating false websites and those accused of “offering an unauthorized Temu ‘app’” for download. Temu has come after temuh.com, temumore.com and temu-shopping.com with the former accusation, and has pointed fingers at riseapk.net, freeappmods.com, starfiles.co and apkcast.com with the latter allegation.
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The complaint notes in all cases that the owners of each website have allegedly “[used] a privacy service that shields the identity of the true registrant.”
Temu secured default judgment in the same Illinois court—albeit with a different judge—on a lawsuit that accused 20 website owners of trademark infringement on the same day it filed this lawsuit: March 11.
In that order, Judge Mary M. Rowland ruled that each of the defendants, who defaulted on responding to the lawsuit set into motion by Temu, are permanently enjoined from using the Temu trademarks in their business dealings now or in the future. Each of the defendants was also ordered to pay Temu $50,000 for damages.
The decision in Temu’s favor came after a temporary restraining order (TRO) had been granted in the case, which temporarily prevented the defendants from the activity Temu had sued over. Temu has already secured a TRO in the latest case.
According to the low-priced goods purveyor’s March 11 filing, the company alleges that, “in or around February and March 2024, plaintiff identified the Temu marks being used in connection with the [defendants’] domain names and applications. Defendants reproduced, displayed and/or distributed the Temu marks without authorization or license from the plaintiff.”
That, the company asserts, “is likely to cause and has caused confusion, mistake and deception by and among consumers and is irreparably harming [Temu]” because “the Temu marks are highly distinctive and have become universally associated in the public mind with [the] Temu marketplace.”
In the complaint, counsel for Temu states that the Temu trademarks “are of great and incalculable value to Plaintiff,” citing that the app has surpassed 100 million downloads on the Google Play store. It does not cite numbers for Apple’s app store.
Temu seeks permanent enjoinment from present and future use of the Temu trademarks among the defendants, as well as $2 million in damages “for each and every use of the Temu marks.”
In the previous lawsuit, which has similar wording to the March 11 filing, Temu sought markedly less for damages: $100,000 for each use of its trademarks.
Temu did not return Sourcing Journal’s request for comment, nor did David Gulbransen, its attorney in this case.
