Swedish online fashion retailer Nelly has launched an appeal against a recent court decision that absolved two Shein-related companies of copyright infringement, as reported by Reuters.
In October 2025, Sweden's Patent and Market Court found that Infinite Styles Ecommerce, Shein’s Ireland-based subsidiary, had copied photographs owned by Nelly without permission and displayed them on Shein’s Swedish website.
However, the court rejected Nelly’s claims against two other Shein-linked entities — parent company Roadget Business and Dublin-based Infinite Styles Services — and ordered Nelly to cover those companies' legal expenses.
The ruling included a conditional penalty of Skr500,000 ($53,104) imposed on Infinite Styles Ecommerce Ltd, payable only if it were to infringe Nelly’s copyright again.
Nelly was also required to pay the legal costs of the two companies that were cleared.
Nelly, which operates the e-commerce site Nelly.com and markets its own clothing line, first brought the copyright case in September 2024.
"We want all three companies to be held accountable and have this threat of a fine if they infringe again," Nelly CEO Helena Karlinder-Ostlundh told Reuters, adding that her business sought fair competitive conditions.
"We felt that this is a broader question, not just for us, but for the industry as a whole," Karlinder-Ostlundh stated.
Shein, known for low-cost apparel sourced directly from factories in China, did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
It has previously said it removed the disputed images swiftly and that it was "committed to protecting the rights of IP rights holders".
Recently, reports emerged that Shein is tightening its compliance framework after facing several penalties related to data privacy, misleading discounts and environmental claims.
In 2025, French regulators imposed a €150m ($174.53m) fine for unauthorised cookie data collection and an additional €40m penalty for misleading discounts.
Italy also fined the company €1m for greenwashing.
In a letter to investors cited by Reuters, Shein’s executive chairman Donald Tang stated that the company has formed a Business Integrity Group linking its compliance, governance and external affairs functions, and that internal audit capabilities have been expanded to reinforce discipline.
