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Lululemon Athletica claims in its lawsuit filed in the U.S.
District Court for the Central District of California that
Costco has “unlawfully traded” on its reputation, goodwill and
sweat equity by selling unauthorized and unlicensed apparel that
uses knockoff, infringing versions of its patents.
Lululemon alleges that Costco is known to use manufacturers of
popular branded products for its private label Kirkland brand,
but that the company and the manufacturers don't tell consumers
of the connection between them for many of the Kirkland-branded
products. Because of this, Lululemon claims this leads at least
some shoppers to believe that Kirkland-branded products are made
by the authentic supplier of the “original” products. Lululemon
claims Costco doesn't try to dispel the ambiguity.
“As an innovation-led company that invests significantly in the
research, development, and design of our products, we take the
responsibility of protecting and enforcing our intellectual
property rights very seriously and pursue the appropriate legal
action when necessary," a Lululemon company spokesperson said in
a statement.
Some of the products Lululemon says Costco is making duplicates
of include its popular Scuba hoodies, Define jackets, and ABC
pants.
Lululemon claims one of the duplicates that Costco sells is the
Hi-Tec Men's Scuba Full Zip, with the lawsuit showing a
screenshot image of Costco's website showing the item priced at
$19.97. Lululemon sells several men's jackets that cost more
than $100 each.
Costco, based in Issaquah, Washington, did not immediately
respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Lululemon is requesting a jury trial and wants Costco to stop
selling the products that it considers to be duplicates. It is
also seeking an unspecified amount in monetary damages.
Lulemon was in a similar legal dispute with Peloton in 2021. Two
years later the companies announced a five-year partnership that
included Lululemon becoming the primary athletic apparel partner
to Peloton.
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