Unless you were hiding under a rock you would have heard about the lawsuit filed by Lululemon against Costco in late June, 2025. In the complaint, Lululemon, self-acknowledged as "a path-breaking athletic and lifestyle apparel company," alleges that knockoffs of its SCUBA hoodies and sweatshirts, DEFINE jackets, and ABC pants are being sold by Costco, in violation of its trade dress and design patent rights.
More specifically, Lululemon accused Costco infringed two of its trade dress registrations for the DEFINE jackets, two design patents for its SCUBA jackets, and common law trade dress rights for the ABC pants.
Lululemon's complaint provided side-by-side comparisons of its garments and the alleged dupes sold by Costco. For a patent and trademark practitioner like me, it's always interesting to see what tools in the IP toolbox are deployed by big name clothing and shoe makers to protect their designs. For designs that are not a flash in the pan fashion trend, it is worthwhile to invest in federal trade dress registrations and design patents. Otherwise, it's a more uphill road to climb to make out a case for infringement of common law IP rights.
In the wake of filing the lawsuit, the buzz in social media appears to side with Costco, as in "why break the piggy bank buying Lululemon when you can just get the same thing from Costco?"
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