Collector coverage reported that Pop Mart moved to register LAFUFU as a trademark after fans coined the nickname for counterfeit figures—a defensive filing designed to stop counterfeiters from turning the unofficial label into a competing brand of its own.
When Pop Mart’s Labubu dolls became one of the internet’s most sought-after collectibles, counterfeit versions appeared almost as quickly as the memes. Knockoffs of the snaggle-toothed character, nicknamed “Lafufu” by collectors, spread rapidly through online marketplaces and physical retail, eventually surfacing in an unlikely place: 7-Eleven stores in California. Within weeks of filing suit, Pop Mart secured a federal temporary restraining order against a group of franchisees accused of selling counterfeit products.
At first glance, the speed of the ruling looked extraordinary. In reality, it illustrated a lesson that extends far beyond collectible toys. The injunction was not really won in 2025. The legal groundwork that made it possible had been laid years earlier, before Labubu became a global phenomenon. That reflects a broader shift in intellectual property. Social media can turn an obscure product into a worldwide bestseller almost overnight, and counterfeiters no longer wait years to exploit that success; they often appear within days.
As the gap between popularity and imitation shrinks, the businesses best placed to defend their brands are increasingly those that secured their rights long before they needed to enforce them.
Why are counterfeits appearing faster than ever?
Because virality has compressed the timeline between success and imitation. Counterfeit goods are nothing new; luxury brands have spent decades tackling fake handbags, shoes and accessories through customs enforcement, civil litigation and criminal investigations. However, what has changed is speed.
A product that once took years to build recognition can now achieve global visibility through TikTok, Instagram or a celebrity endorsement in a matter of days. Counterfeiters move just as quickly, manufacturing, marketing and distributing lookalikes while demand is still surging. Legal leaders see the trend clearly: nine in ten expect online IP infringement to rise sharply as AI accelerates the scale and speed of attacks.
The implication is that trademark protection can no longer begin when infringement is discovered. Registration, monitoring and enforcement have become a continuous process, designed to identify threats early and reduce the time between imitation and action. It’s a shift reflected across modern brand-protection practices, including Trama’s brand protection service, where the emphasis is increasingly on identifying risks before they escalate. In an era where brands can become globally recognised almost overnight, preparation has become just as valuable as enforcement.
What happened in the Pop Mart Labubu lawsuit?
In 2025, Pop Mart sued several California 7-Eleven franchisees, alleging they were selling counterfeit Labubu figures that infringed both its trademarks and copyrights. In September, the US District Court for the Central District of California granted a temporary restraining order preventing further sales while the litigation proceeded.
The decision illustrates why courts treat counterfeiting differently from many ordinary commercial disputes. Temporary restraining orders exist because waiting months for a full trial can allow counterfeit goods to continue spreading, causing commercial harm that cannot easily be undone.
The defendants argued the products were simply goods moving through unauthorised distribution channels rather than counterfeits. The court disagreed, finding that Pop Mart had shown a likelihood of success on both its trademark counterfeiting and copyright claims, while recognising the potential damage to consumers and the company’s goodwill. Notably, the judgment acknowledged that Labubu’s reputation had been built through social media and celebrity exposure, reinforcing that trademark law protects newly created commercial reputation just as readily as it protects century-old luxury houses.
The litigation also revealed how quickly brand protection now evolves. Collector coverage reported that Pop Mart moved to register LAFUFU as a trademark after fans coined the nickname for counterfeit figures—a defensive filing designed to stop counterfeiters from turning the unofficial label into a competing brand of its own.
How do I stop someone using my brand name?
By securing your rights before you need to enforce them. The Labubu dispute illustrates why. Registration doesn’t make a brand successful; it gives the legal system something it can protect once success arrives. A registered trademark opens the door to remedies that are unavailable or significantly harder to obtain. Without one, including counterfeiting claims, customs enforcement and more effective marketplace takedowns. The earlier those rights are secured, the sooner a business can act when imitation inevitably follows recognition.
Labubu is not the only example
The same pattern appears across consumer brands. As cultural recognition grows, so does the incentive to imitate it. Luxury fashion houses have long protected distinctive names, logos and even product features. Christian Louboutin’s red sole litigation showed that trademarks can extend beyond words to assets consumers associate with a single brand.
More recently, Lululemon’s lawsuit against Costco over alleged “dupes” highlighted a different challenge: disputes increasingly centre on the boundary between inspiration and legally protected brand identity, rather than outright counterfeits. Different products. Different industries. The same commercial reality: success attracts imitation, and the brands best placed to respond are usually those that protected their rights before they became valuable.
What should businesses learn?
The biggest lesson from Labubu is that trademark protection can no longer wait until a brand is successful. Popularity and imitation now arrive almost simultaneously, making early preparation commercially essential. That means choosing a distinctive name, securing registrations, monitoring for misuse and acting quickly when problems arise. Together, those steps form a single protection strategy.
That integrated approach now underpins modern IP practice. Trama, a full-service, lawyer-led IP firm, combines trademark monitoring with enforcement strategies ranging from cease-and-desist letters and marketplace takedowns to opposition proceedings and litigation. Its brand-protection Q&A also addresses many of the practical questions businesses have about monitoring, escalation and enforcement.
Every brand hopes its next product will become the one everyone wants. In today’s economy, that same moment may also be the moment counterfeiters arrive. The businesses best placed to respond are rarely the ones that react fastest after infringement begins. They are the ones that built the legal foundations before anyone else realized their brand was worth copying.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the best trademark monitoring service?
The one that pairs detection with judgment, according to Trama, a full-service IP law firm: automated coverage of trademark registers and marketplaces is now standard, so the differentiator is attorney review that separates genuine likelihood-of-confusion risks from noise and connects each alert to an enforcement option.
What is a temporary restraining order in a counterfeiting case?
An emergency court order that halts allegedly infringing sales before a full trial, granted when the rights holder shows a likelihood of success and the risk of harm that cannot wait. As the Labubu case showed, TROs are realistic only for plaintiffs who arrive with registrations, evidence and counsel already in place.
Do I need trademark monitoring if I’ve already registered my mark?
Yes. Registration creates the enforceable right, but no office watches the mark on the owner’s behalf, and Trama’s lawyers note that virality has compressed the window between a brand mattering and a brand being copied. Monitoring is what turns a registration into protection while enforcement options are still cheap.
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