Following a 2-year investigation into Nike’s licensing practices in the European Union, the Portland-based sportswear giant has been charged with antitrust violations. According to a statement from the European Commission on Monday, Nike has been hit with a 12.5 million euro ($14.14 million) fine for running afoul of competition law for more than a decade by “illegally restricting traders from selling licensed merchandise cross-border and online within the [European Union] Single Market.” 

“Ulta sole my artwork and put it on the packaging for a face mask!” That is the central assertion in a new lawsuit filed by Amsterdam-based artist and designer Dominic Sebastian Metcalfe against the multi-billion dollar (and swiftly growing) beauty retailer that is Ulta. According to Metcalfe’s suit, which was filed in a New York federal court earlier this month, Bolingbrook, Illinois-headquartered Ulta is on the hook for copyright infringement, and potentially, a portion of the profits that it made in connection with its allegedly unauthorized use of Mecalfe’s work as a result. 

Quilted handbags bearing golden-hued double “C” logos, knitted athletic sneakers with foamy soles and three parallel stripes on the side, and battery-bearing – not mechanical self-winding movements, and ticking – not gracefully gliding – watches bearing the Rolex name are some of the most frequently-produced fakes that leave the Chinese mainland each year en masse, destined for counterfeit-seeking consumers in the West.  

Away is taking Macy’s and the maker of one of its exclusive luggage lines to court for allegedly stealing its most closely-held design specifications and supply chain details to make rival products, all under the guise of exploring what the defendants presented as a “potential business opportunity.” That is what Away argues in a newly-filed lawsuit, setting forth claims of trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, trade dress infringement and dilution, false designation of origin, and unfair competition, among others.

At the center of the latest filing in the lawsuit that Chanel initiated against The RealReal is an allegation by the Paris-based luxury brand that the budding luxury consignment site’s 100-plus so-called authentication "experts" aren't really experts at all. That is, according to Chanel, no one other than its own in-house staffers can gauge whether a Chanel product is authentic and thus, “only products purchased directly from Chanel and its authorized retailers can be certain to be” – and thus, be advertised as – “genuine and authentic.”  

Within 48 hours of initiating a copyright infringement suit against FJerry LLC, Elliot Tebele, Jerry Media and Tebele’s tequila venture JAJA Spirits for allegedly stealing a meme and posting it on the popular @fuckjerry Instagram, legal counsel for “content creator” Olorunfemi Coker filed to voluntarily dismiss the case without prejudice, meaning that Coker could, at least in theory, file suit against the defendants on the same grounds again at a later date.

“Nike is being sued … again. On the heels of being named in a growing class action lawsuit filed over the summer, accusing it of "intentionally and willfully discriminates” against women in terms of “pay, promotions, and conditions of employment,” and a subsequent shareholders sued that called attention to reports of the company’s “hostile work environment” and their impact on the value of the brand, Nike has been hit with yet another lawsuit. This time, the $34 billion Portland-based sportswear giant has been accused of discriminating against a former senior employee on the basis of race. 

Glossier announced on Tuesday that it has raised $100 million – the most money it has raised to date – in a Series D funding round led by Menlo Park-based venture capital firm Sequoia Capital. Thanks to this new splash of cash, which brings Glossier’s total funding to just more than $186 million, the millennial-centric beauty company is being valued at $1.2 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.  

Chinese authorities seized thousands of fake Louis Vuitton, Loewe, and Kenzo bags and garments and arrested more than 30 people in connection with a counterfeit ring that they had been investigating for over a year. The Shanghai-based group had sold a mass of counterfeit goods that would have been worth $15 million if authentic and sold at retail, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua. 

Remember a time when you did not get skincare product recommendations or vacation outfit – or even vacation location – ideas from someone you do not technically know and who boasts hundreds of thousands (or even tens of millions) of followers that are more or less a lot like you on Instagram? It might hardly seem imaginable anymore given the large-scale rise and near-market-saturation of influencers.