Shein ordered to pay Lacoste damages, banned from EU logo sales

On July 9, the Paris Judicial Court ordered Shein to pay Lacoste€110,000 ($125,741) in damages and issued an interim injunction, effective across the EU, barring the platform from selling apparel and accessories that imitate Lacoste’s crocodile logo. Shein confirmed the ruling but said the order addresses only provisional issues and does not resolve the underlying trademark claims; the company said it removed the disputed products after receiving notice from Lacoste.

The ruling is narrow in legal terms: a preliminary injunction, not a final verdict. But the timing is notable. It landed one day after France’s anti fast fashion law (n°2026-602) was formally enacted on July 8 and published in the Official Journal on July 9, closing a legislative process that ran for more than two years. Viewed side by side, the two developments point to a pattern the industry should watch. Intellectual property litigation is producing enforceable outcomes now, while the newly enacted law’s real impact still depends on implementation.

A first for Shein in a French court, but not a first fight

Lacoste filed suit over products sold on the Shein platform that allegedly reproduced or imitated its crocodile logo, which Rene Lacoste registered in 1933. The case is Shein’s first major court test in France.

Shein has faced a number of intellectual property disputes with global brands in multiple jurisdictions, and Shein and Temu have publicly traded allegations in ongoing legal disputes. Shein’s standard defense in these cases is the same one it repeated in the Lacoste statement: that it operates as a marketplace and removes infringing items once flagged.

What the Paris ruling adds is a significant French enforcement example with EU wide effect, and a court finding of a clear likelihood of imitation, showing that the marketplace defense did not fully insulate the platform.

Litigation moves faster than implementation

The government moved quickly to translate the new anti-fast-fashion law into mechanics. On July 9, the same day the law was published, it released a draft penalty decree, open for public consultation until July 29. The charge per item takes effect Sept. 1, 2026, while the advertising ban, the ban on the word “free” in ultra-fast-fashion marketing, and the influencer promotion ban take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

As SGI Europe previously reported, the law is not a blanket attack on low-cost apparel retail. It uses catalog volume and repairability criteria designed to isolate ultra-fast-fashion business models, largely sparing French and European retailers including Decathlon, Kiabi, Jules, Etam, Zara and H&M. Trade Minister Serge Papin acknowledged the distinction before adoption, saying the government had “found a way to protect French companies” while still targeting platforms such as Shein and Temu.

The bite of the new French law, however, depends on a decree still in consultation and thresholds that are not yet final. Lacoste’s trademark dispute, by contrast, produced an interim injunction effective across the EU and €110,000 in provisional damages within months, even as the underlying case continues.

Immediate answers, long-term open points

For brands built on protectable design equity (logos, silhouettes, technical branding), the Lacoste case is a more useful near-term signal than the law itself. It shows French and European courts are willing to grant interim relief against products they believe are likely to infringe well-known trademarks, even when sold through marketplace platforms that argue they remove problematic listings once notified.

It should not be read as establishing a broad legal precedent, and it does not answer how effectively the new French anti-fast-fashion law’s implementation will land once the decree is finalized and penalties begin phasing in. The law is now in force, and its bite will land gradually through 2027. Litigation, by contrast, has already delivered a result.