Sabo Skirt has accused 16 retailers, including Billy J, Kmart, and the Chinese ultra-fast-fashion giant Shein, of copying its designs.
The brand alleges the businesses duplicated part or all of its designs across 36 patterns, prints, or sketches, selling them at lower quality and significantly reduced prices. Sabo Skirt claims the “blatant copying” has impacted sales and harmed its reputation.
The case was filed in the Queensland Federal Court on February 26 by Sabo Skirt’s operating company, Larry and Luke. The 13 other retailers remain unnamed.
In 2024, Shein settled with Sabo over allegations that it had copied one of the brand’s knit dresses.
The garment featured red scalloped tiles on a white background with flowers, grapes, and pears, as well as a V-split neckline and waist cutouts.
Shein has since been alleged to continue selling the dress, breaching the settlement terms.
Online retailer Billy J faces the highest number of allegations, with 11 garments reportedly copied.
Shein told the ABC it takes claims like these seriously and said infringing others’ intellectual property is “not our business model.” Kmart has yet to comment on the accusation.
- Further reading: Sabo data breach exposes 3.5 million customer records.
