Lululemon, the Vancouver-based athleisure company, has successfully obtained a trademark for the term “Lululemon dupe” in the United States. The trademark was granted on October 21 after the company’s initial application in December 2024. This trademark covers various aspects such as advertising, marketing, and retail services both online and in physical stores, restricting the exclusive use of the phrase for product marketing to Lululemon only.
As of the latest records, there have been no similar trademark filings found on the Canadian Trademarks Database. This strategic move by Lululemon is seen as an innovative enforcement measure to safeguard against potential duplicates, explains Susan Scafidi, the founder of the Fashion Law Institute and a law professor at Fordham University in New York.
Unlike counterfeit or knock-off products, “dupes,” which are short for duplicates, resemble popular brand-name products but are sold at lower prices. Scafidi notes that the term “dupe” lacks the negative connotations associated with fake products, causing concerns for brands about the impact on their market share.
With Lululemon now owning the exclusive rights to the phrase “Lululemon dupe,” any commercial use by others for activities like advertising or marketing could face legal repercussions in the future. This restriction, however, is limited to the use of the specific language rather than the actual products themselves.
According to Toronto-based fashion and branding lawyer Ashlee Froese, companies selling products resembling Lululemon’s are at risk if they use the phrase in hidden data like metadata that could lead consumers to their products when searching for Lululemon alternatives online.
Daniel Tsai, a business and law professor at the University of Toronto and University of Canada West, highlights that sometimes merely owning a trademark can deter competitors from continuing to sell similar products.
Under U.S. trademark regulations, companies must actively use their trademarks to maintain them, implying that Lululemon will need to incorporate the phrase “Lululemon dupe” in some form of marketing or promotional activities.
Despite requests for comment, Lululemon did not respond in time for this publication. The company has been recognized for its proactive measures in protecting its brand, including utilizing design patents to safeguard specific elements of its products. In the past, Lululemon organized a “dupe swap” event to promote its original Align pants and discourage the purchase of knock-off versions.
Moreover, Lululemon has been involved in legal battles, such as suing Costco for selling alleged duplicates of its popular clothing items, including Scuba hoodies and Define jackets. The company settled a previous lawsuit with Peloton over similar allegations in 2022.
Looking ahead, it is anticipated that other companies may follow suit and seek trademarks for their brand names paired with the term “dupe.” Aritzia, for instance, has already filed trademark applications in the U.S. and Canada for “Aritzia dupe.” Brands will need to continually innovate their protection strategies to combat the inevitable threat of copycat products.
In the realm of intellectual property protection, the battle against imitation products remains an ongoing challenge that companies must navigate.