Hard blow to Costco after the popular sportswear brand sues: They have “unlawfully traded on our reputation”

Costco was served with a lawsuit in a California US District Court on Friday by luxury athletic and lifestyle apparel company, Lululemon. The Canadian company claims that discount retailer has “unlawfully traded on Lululemon’s reputation, goodwill and sweat equity by selling unauthorized and unlicensed apparel.”

“Some customers incorrectly believe these infringing products are authentic Lululemon apparel,” states the 49-page court filing. To boot, the alleged Costco dupes cost just a fraction of the real thing.

The “confusingly similar” knockoffs are being pushed on social media by influencers exactly because they are so “difficult to distinguish from the authentic.” There was even an article in The Washington Post in January titled ‘Is that hoodie Lululemon or a Costco dupe? No one has to know but you.’

What Costco apparel products does Lululemon say are dupes

One of the things that stands out from other knockoffs is the quality of Costco’s dupes. The discount retailer has built a loyal following for having products that are just about as good as the real thing thanks to its notoriously rigorous testing process.

The Post points out that Costco has a number of products that are suspiciously close to the real deal that they often have people wondering if they aren’t really brand-name products or made by the original manufacturer and then branded differently.

Lululemon claims the following Costco products are dupe apparel:

Should Costco lose the case it could send shockwaves through the retail sector that sells imitations of established brands by setting a new precedent regarding intellectual property rights and design protection.

Julie Zerbo, a lawyer and the founder of the news outlet the Fashion Law told The Washington Post that “broadly speaking, it’s really easy and oftentimes completely legally aboveboard for companies to copy the design of garments, and oftentimes accessories as well.” She explained that intellectual property law “generally doesn’t like to give monopolies to single companies for useful things.”

“Yoga pants are useful things. They cover our bodies so that we can do yoga,” Zerbo added. However, if Lululemon can prove that Costco’s copycat products infringed on some specific unique feature of their product, they may have a better shot at winning.

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