Aupen targeted? Singapore bag brand alleges trademark battle with US’ Target, lays off staff
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Aupen was founded in 2022 and is known for its sloping leather bags popular with international celebrities.
PHOTO: AUPEN
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SINGAPORE - Home-grown handbag brand Aupen has wiped its website and most of its Instagram page amid a potential trademark dispute with American retail giant Target.
Employees of the label, founded in 2022 and known for its sloping leather bags popular with international celebrities, have been told they will be let go, said an Aupen spokesperson on Sept 9.
In December 2024, the business had “more than 10” workers in Singapore, Singaporean founder Nicholas Tan told The Straits Times
Target appears to be fighting Aupen’s attempt to register its trademark internationally, including in the United States, citing potential confusion with Target’s underwear and sleepwear line, Auden.
According to a lawyer’s letter from Target that Aupen posted on Aug 25 – one of its few remaining Instagram posts – Target has requested Aupen detail why it believes confusion is not likely.
The budget chain, which sells everything from electronics to apparel across 1,989 stores in the US, relaunched its Auden range in July 2024.
The corporation said the Auden and Aupen names sound and look “nearly identical”, adding that it has made “extensive use” of the Auden trademark since March 2019.
According to a letter to Aupen dated July 22, Target has until Sept 24 to oppose Aupen’s application to the American trademark office.
In comments to the press, Aupen said the Singapore trademark office had advised it to “back down” from possibly challenging Target’s recently registered trademarks in Singapore, because the statutory board “prioritises foreign investment”.
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (Ipos) rejected the claim. An Ipos spokesman told ST on Sept 9 that it had contacted Aupen on Sept 1 to offer assistance after learning of Target’s potential opposition to Aupen’s trademark application in the US.
It provided information to Aupen on Singapore’s trademark registration and opposition procedures and explained that the application process includes a window for any party to oppose the registration of a trademark.
It advised Aupen to seek independent legal counsel on the matter and added: “Ipos assured Aupen that its existing trademark on our register remains valid.”
ST understands that Target’s trademark was registered here before Aupen’s.
Aupen has called Target’s pushback against its US trademark registration a lawsuit, an escalation from opposition to an application.
Ipos said: “Ipos is not aware that the matter has now become a lawsuit.”
Aupen declined to comment on its next steps, but Mr Tan, who is in his mid-30s, wrote in an Instagram Story on Sept 8: “A $100 billion giant is crushing an independent brand.
“The result can be years of court battles that block us from releasing new products – while a giant can replicate designs at a fraction of the price.
“This will erase us. And when we are gone, people may think that Auden is Aupen.”
He added: “Because of this pressure, I’ve had to give my team their last-day notice. My duty now is to honour salaries and suppliers, even as our name is erased.”
Aupen posted a picture on Sept 8 of its founder Nicholas Tan with a red target painted on his forehead.
As at Sept 9 morning, all products had been removed from the Aupen website. The homepage now shows a single photo of a tote bag, the colour of a brown manila envelope, printed with words common to court documents.
Aupen has no physical store, and its bags, typically priced below $600, are sold online only.
Intellectual property lawyer Jonathan Kok told ST a trademark registration opposition is “not the end of the world for Aupen”. According to the partner at Withers KhattarWong, if Target opposes, the matter will go before the US trademark office’s internal tribunal and likely be resolved within a year or two.
The cost of mounting a defence is “manageable”, though Mr Kok declined to give figures. It is not an exorbitant sum, but businesses usually prefer to use the money for marketing or something commercially profitable, he added.
“Trademark registration is not essential to Aupen doing business. But in this context, if it doesn’t have a trademark registered, it could be more vulnerable to claims of passing itself off as associated with Target.”
Mr Kok personally thinks Aupen has a good case, as it sells different products and the name sounds different enough that people would not mix Auden and Aupen up.
Mr Tan’s asymmetrical leather bag designs gained international attention in 2023 after American pop star Taylor Swift was spotted with an Aupen bag while on a date with her now-fiancee Travis Kelce.
In 2024, Aupen partnered LVMH Metiers d’Art, a subsidiary of French conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
In a press statement on Sept 9, Aupen highlighted “fresh backing” from its famous fans in its tug-of-war with Target, which posted US$106.6 billion (S$136.6 billion) in annual revenue in 2024, according to statements from the company’s March 2025 earnings report.
Hollywood actresses Jennifer Aniston and Emily Blunt were photographed toting the Nova and Himalayan Nirvana models, on Sept 8 and 7 respectively. American pop star Madonna carried the Nirvana Deluxe on Sept 7. All three images were posted on Aupen’s Instagram.
The endorsements are “a timely show of solidarity as the brand navigates a trademark lawsuit from US retail giant Target”, it said in its statement.
