Lululemon, a prominent athleisure brand based in Vancouver, has successfully obtained a trademark for the term “Lululemon dupe” in the United States. The trademark, granted on October 21 after the initial application in December 2024, covers advertising, marketing, and retail services, both in-store and online. This means that only Lululemon is authorized to use the phrase for product promotion.
Unlike counterfeit or knock-off items, dupes are products resembling popular brand-name items but sold at lower prices. Susan Scafidi, founder of the non-profit Fashion Law Institute and a professor at Fordham University School of Law, views Lululemon’s trademark acquisition as a strategic move to safeguard itself against dupes that could potentially impact its market share.
With the trademark in place, anyone using the term “Lululemon dupe” for commercial purposes, such as influencers endorsing similar products or marketers online, may face legal consequences. While brands selling Lululemon-like products may not explicitly mention the phrase in their listings, utilizing it in backend data like metadata could still lead to legal issues, according to Ashlee Froese, a fashion and branding lawyer from Toronto.
Daniel Tsai, a business and law professor at the University of Toronto and University of Canada West, emphasizes the significance of owning the trademark, as it often deters competitors from continuing to sell similar products. Under U.S. trademark law, companies must actively use their trademarks to maintain ownership, implying that Lululemon will likely incorporate the term “Lululemon dupe” in its promotional activities.
Lululemon’s proactive stance in brand protection includes previous initiatives like hosting a “dupe swap” event to exchange knock-off Align pants for original Lululemon products. The company’s legal actions against Costco and Peloton over alleged dupe sales demonstrate its commitment to defending its intellectual property.
In a bid to combat potential copycat challenges, other companies like Aritzia have followed suit by seeking trademarks for terms like “Aritzia dupe.” As the landscape of intellectual property protection evolves, brands must continually innovate to safeguard their creations in the face of imitations.
Lululemon did not respond to requests for comment from CBC at the time of publication.