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The Shein complaint about Temu kicks off with a bang, accusing Temu of being \u201can unlawful enterprise built on counterfeiting, theft of trade secrets, infringement of intellectual property rights, and fraud\u201d in just the first sentence. But I guess you have to go big when the lawsuit against you<\/em> accuses you of using \u201cMafia-style\u201d intimidation tactics.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n It gets worse, Shein alleges. Temu isn\u2019t a marketplace at all. \u201cIt controls every aspect of its seller\u2019s activity,\u201d the complaint says. \u201cIt directs what products they can list and the prices for which they can sell; encourages them to infringe the intellectual property rights of others; and even prevents them from removing their products from Temu\u2019s website after they have admitted to infringement.\u201d I would like to be clear: I am still in the first paragraph<\/em> of this complaint, a paragraph which uses bitchy scare-quotes around every incidence of calling Temu a \u201cmarketplace.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Pretty intense beef over who can sell $5 skirts<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThis relentless pursuit of low prices is central to its business model and competitive strategy but its low prices are achieved by any means,\u201d Shein writes of Temu in its lawsuit today. I wonder who else we could say that about!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n