By Joseph Mandour on July 20, 2016
San Diego – The athletic shoe industry has heated up
with lawsuits recently and the latest is another lawsuit against Skechers.
Adidas filed a patent infringement lawsuit claiming that the Skechers Mega Flex
series copied the design of its Springblade shoe.
First released in 2013, the Springblade shoe has an
innovative design where several individual blades are attached to the sole of
the shoe. This approach is modeled after the running blades used by amputees.
Runners who use the shoes, Adidas claims in the lawsuit, are given a “high
energy return” and a “sense of buoyancy, even when you’re walking.”
The design of the Skechers Mega Flex series is
strikingly similar, with several individual blades attached to the sole of the
shoe as well.
In response to Skechers’ design, Adidas said in a
statement, “We will not stand by and allow others to blatantly copy our
products and infringe on our valuable intellectual property.”
This lawsuit marks the third infringement lawsuit
brought against Skechers by a major competitor in the last year, with several
lawsuits from lesser known companies that have not been as frequently presented
in the media. Nike filed a patent infringement lawsuit regarding eight patents
Skechers allegedly violated in the last two years.
Another lawsuit was brought by Adidas over three
different trademark infringement claims. The first issue was a similar use of
the iconic three stripe Adidas trademark on Skechers’ Relaxed Fit Cross Court
TR shoe. The second issue was the Skechers’ Supernova sneaker which Adidas
alleged infringed on its Supernova sneaker. The third issue was the
similarities between the Adidas Stan Smith shoe and the Skechers’ Onix sneaker.
Searching “Stan Smith” on the Skechers website brought up results for the Onix
shoe which only further made the connection hard to deny.
Lawsuits between Adidas and Sketchers dates back to
1995. Skechers most recently sued Adidas’ Reebok brand over infringement of the
Go Walk shoes in 2014.
On the most recent infringement claims, Adidas stated,
“This pattern of unlawful behavior and freeloading in the industry is
outrageous and must end. We will take every league measure possible to protect
and defend our innovations.”
When asked about the subject, Skechers states that
they will not comment on pending litigation.
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