Trademark & Copyright Protection Victory Against Counterfeit LABUBUs

Quinn Emanuel recently secured a critical temporary restraining order in the Central District of California, stopping multiple 7-Eleven stores from selling counterfeits of client POP MART’s explosively popular LABUBU products. 

POP MART has achieved unprecedented commercial success with LABUBU, a distinctive elf-like character that has evolved into a global cultural phenomenon since its 2019 debut. The character has garnered widespread attention through high-profile celebrity endorsements from figures including Cher, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, David Beckham, Marc Jacobs, and Lisa of Blackpink, with features in The New York Times and other major publications and substantial social media engagement.

POP MART’s “blind box” sales model—wherein consumers purchase sealed packages without knowing which character variant they will receive—has cultivated a robust collector culture and contributed to the company more than doubling its revenue over the past year.

LABUBU’s commercial success has attracted widespread counterfeiting, with counterfeit products (colloquially termed “Lafufus”) proliferating throughout retail channels, including 7-Eleven franchise locations across California. These counterfeit products present dual concerns: not just infringement of POP MART’s intellectual property rights, but also consumer safety risks from substandard manufacturing quality. Sophisticated counterfeit packaging has made it difficult for consumers to distinguish authentic products from fraudulent imitations, with actual confusion among consumers documented on social media and in court filings.

On September 15, 2025, the United States District Court for the Central District of California granted POP MART’s motion for a temporary restraining order against multiple 7-Eleven franchisees selling counterfeit LABUBU products. The Court’s ruling was in POP MART’s favor on every significant issue. The Court (1) found POP MART had demonstrated a strong likelihood of prevailing on its claims for trademark counterfeiting and for trademark and copyright infringement; (2) found irreparable injury from both POP MART’s brand reputation damage and consumer safety concerns; (3) rejected one defendant’s attempts to characterize counterfeit products as plausibly legitimate “gray market goods”; (4) found that defendants’ assertions of ceased sales did not moot the need for injunctive relief; and (5) found that LABUBU had substantial brand equity generated through viral social media presence and celebrity features.

This victory provides critical protection for POP MART’s intellectual property in the United States during unprecedented brand expansion. The ruling also serves the public interest by protecting consumers, including children, from dangerous counterfeit products and preserving market integrity.