Swedish fashion brand H&M has filed a lawsuit against its fast-growing rival Shein in a Hong Kong court for substantial copyright infringement, according to an announcement made by the company on Tuesday. 

H&M has asked for unspecified damages and an injunction to stop Shein from further infringing on its copyright and trademarks. 

“We have an ongoing copyright infringement lawsuit towards Shein filed in Hong Kong,” an H&M spokesperson said. “We believe that Shein in multiple cases has infringed on our designs.”

According to relevant court filings, H&M has offered images of numerous goods such as swimwear and sweaters that H&M claimed provided proof that Shein had copied its designs. H&M also cited "the striking resemblance between the products showing they must have been copied" and the "sheer scale of (Shein's) unauthorised substantial reproduction of the copyright works."

The copyright infringement case was first heard in Hong Kong court last September and the next hearing is reportedly to be held on 31 July.