British footwear brand Dr Martens has launched a lawsuit against Temu, accusing the online giant of trademark infringement.

The footwear retailer alleges that Temu has used Google ads to promote boots using keywords such as ‘Dr Martens’ and ‘Airwair’. As a result, the lawsuit continues, Temu’s products have gained search result visibility over Dr Martens.

The lawsuit was first filed at the High Court last week and was first reported by The Sunday Times.

Temu has faced similar levels of legal scrutiny over its practices in the US. While Google’s advertising policies prohibit trademark infringement, they do allow them to use trademarks as keywords.

Dr Martens previously sued fast-fashion giant Shein in 2021, accusing it of a “clear intent to sell counterfeits”.

In March, Temu owner PDD Holdings reported total revenues of £27bn in the full year to December 31, nearly doubling its sales in one year.

Temu said the surge was driven by an “increase in revenues from online marketing services and transaction services”, alongside strong end-of-year sales festivals in China, including Singles Day”.

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