Dr. Martens sues Temu for trademark infringement

Footwear specialist Dr. Martens is preparing to take on Temu for alleged trademark infringement, launching a lawsuit in an attempt to halt the Chinese marketplace from using keywords associated with the brand.

The legal action was taken to the UK’s High Court, according to a report by the Times, for which a case filing alleged that Temu had been using Google advertisements to promote boots on its platform, where it utilises phrases such as “Dr. Martens” and “Airwair”.

As such, Temu’s advertisements and products have knocked Dr Martens from the top of Google search results for the brand.

According to Dr. Martens, Temu’s actions also go against Google’s own policies, which prohibit ads violating trademark rights. This, however, typically doesn’t link to the use of specific keywords.

Dr. Martens isn’t the first to be bringing legal action against the fast growing Temu. The e-tailer’s fellow fast fashion rival Shein has also taken the company to court over “deceptive statements” and claims of copied imagery.

Meanwhile, concern over Temu’s practices have further been central to an ongoing investigation by South Korean regulators, who are looking into the platform regarding suspicions surrounding false advertising and unfair practices.