Lululemon registers ‘Lululemon Dupe’ trade mark in the US.

On 21 October 2025, the US Patents and Trade Mark Office granted Lululemon Athletica Canada Inc. (Lululemon) a US trade mark registration for the phrase, ‘LULULEMON DUPE’.

This signifies a unique intellectual property protection strategy from the popular athleisure brand, and a potential shift in how dupe culture might be confronted going forward.

Dupe culture.

‘Dupes’, short for ‘duplicates’, are rife in today’s market, with small businesses to mega brands battling copycat products daily.

While in the past, buying fake versions of popular products was something often kept to oneself, consumer attitudes have shifted. Across social media, purchasing and sharing where to find ‘dupes’ has become a popular social media trend and theme for content creators.

‘LULULEMON DUPE’ trade mark.

The ‘LULULEMON DUPE’ US trade mark is registered in a range of class 35 services, including retail store services for clothing, footwear, yoga and athletic accessories and equipment (in store and online), as well as advertising, marketing and promotional services.

This means that Lululemon, one of the most duped brands in the world, has the exclusive right to use ‘LULULEMON DUPE’ in the US, in relation to these services. It can also take action for trade mark infringement against third parties who infringe these rights.

Notably, this trade mark does not prevent third parties from creating similar products to Lululemon. Rather, it prevents imitators from using the phrase ‘Lululemon dupe’ to market those products.

Requirement to use registered trade marks.

US trade mark law requires trade mark owners to use their trade mark consistently (and prove such use at set milestones), or risk losing their registered protection.

This contrasts with Australia’s trade mark law, where applicants for trade marks require a genuine intention to use the trade mark, but do not have to prove use, unless their trade mark use is challenged by a third party.

Due to US use requirements, Lululemon will need to use this trade marked phrase to retail, market and promote its products, and provide evidence of this use, in order to keep its trade mark registration.

From a practical perspective, this may lead to creative campaigns, marketing, or activations by Lululemon, which incorporate the concept of dupes. Interestingly, this isn’t a new concept for Lululemon, which held a popular ‘dupe swap’ in Los Angeles back in 2023 alongside the registration of the trade mark ‘DUPE SWAP’. At this pop-up event, customers who had purchased dupes of Lululemon’s ‘Align’ pants were able to trade them in for the real Lululemon pants.

Could other brands use ‘dupe’ trade marks to combat copycats?

Lululemon has adopted a creative approach to confront the dupe culture head-on. This may encourage other brands to combat dupe culture and the sale and marketing of dupe products (particularly on social media platforms) in a similar way.

However, it is important to remember the ‘LULULEMON DUPE’ trade mark prevents the use of this phrase, not the creation of copycat products.

The fact that language continually evolves, and social media trends take off overnight, raises concern that this trade mark tactic could be overcome by simply switching out the word ‘dupe’.

For example, using the words ‘copy’ or ‘replica’ alongside the brand name, may not necessarily infringe a trade mark that uses the word ‘dupe’.

Top tip for businesses: prioritise your intellectual property strategy.

Intellectual property forms a key part of a business’ assets. As such, protecting that intellectual property is something that should be prioritised throughout the life of a business.

We recommend businesses engage intellectual property lawyers on a regular basis, to help develop and adapt intellectual property strategies in response to a business’ growth, goals, and pressure points, as well external factors such as ‘dupe culture’.

The Bespoke team has extensive expertise in intellectual property, including in relation to trade marks, copyright and designs law.