British footwear brand Dr Martens has filed a lawsuit against Chinese fast fashion retail giant Shein, accusing it of design patent infringement, trade dress and trademark infringeement. Shein is accused of copying multiple pairs of shoes and boots and selling them via its website. The two companies had previously reached a settlement over the matter, but AirWair, which operates the Dr Martens brand, claims that Shein continues to breach the terms of the settlement.

‘Despite being on notice of Airwair’s intellectual property rights, and notwithstanding receipt of multiple breach notices under the settlement agreement, Shein deliberately continued to manufacture, import, distribute, license, sell, market, advertise, promote and/or offer for sale numerous styles that are confusingly similar to the Airwair Classic Trade Dress, Jadon Trade Dress (that’s the welt stitching, a grooved sole edge, angled heel, cleat pattern and platform sole) and the AirWair Registered Trademarks’ reads the complaint.

Once a staple of 70s sub-cultutres – the doc was a favourite of both punks and skinheads – the brand has since achieved perennial success as a fashion classic and has gone through a huge sales growth in recent years. Comfort and practicality are key to the boot’s continued popularity, but a series of collaborations with leading fashion brands, including its 2023 collection with Japanese minimalist label, Nanamica, have contributed to their continued allure. 2024 saw the launch of a collection with Rick Owens as well as its collaboration with streetwear leader Supreme on a shoe that constantly changes color.

The fight with Shein will come of no surprise to those closely watching fashion lawsuits. Protecting its trademarks is clearly an important part of the Dr Martens business strategy and in 2023 alone, the company filed lawsuits against Steve Madden, Nasty Gal and Boohoo for various IP infringements. Shein is no stranger to legal battles and accusations that it has infringed other brands’ intellectual property rights. The company is currently subject to RICO charges in the US in a copyright lawsuit filed  by a group of independent designers accusing it of producing, distributing, and selling exact copies of the designers’ work.