Once again, Nike have launched one more lawsuit against Skechers. The footwear giant, headquartered near Beaverton (Oregon), filed at the Federal Court, in Los Angeles, some documents in which they claim that Skechers have violated their patents allegedly. According to allegations, they supposedly did it by making use of Nike Air, and other shoes, dampening technologies. More specifically, the Jumpin’ Dots and Mega Shoes models, coming from Skechers’ Skech-Air product line, will be sitting in the dock.
There we go the fourth one
This is going to be the fourth lawsuit Nike have launched against Skechers in the last few years. The first one, which dates back to 2014, came to completion a few days ago: Skechers have won. In the second one, Nike accused their competitor of copying a few patented designs, namely Free and Flyknit. As well as VaporMax and Air Max 270 sneakers. In the third lawsuit, submitted at the end of September, Nike claimed that Skechers had created some “Skecherized variations” of their shoes, aiming to gain some market shares.
Give-and-take
Actually, the dispute between the sneaker giants is exceeding the safety limit. Out of Courts, it is progressively turning into a real verbal crossfire. Skechers have bought an advertising space, in the Los Angeles Times, to reassure retailers and final buyers about their own good faith. In addition, they accused Nike of bullying. They also accused Nike of using their huge financial assets “to bring business competition into the courtroom rather than on the market”. Subsequently, Nike have taken legal action, as they claimed: “Nike simply enforced their intellectual property rights against transgressors, including plagiarists such as Skechers: this is not bullying and does not restrain competition. These rights may well urge companies, such as Nike, and talented, inventive designers, who work for the company, to strive for creativity”.
Munich against Deichmann
For the records, the US multinational corporations are not the only ones who have been going to war. Munich, for example, have won a lawsuit against Deichmann. Nine years ago, the Spanish brand took legal action and launched a lawsuit in Germany, because Deichmann were advertising and selling a model showing two strips and a stick. It was far too similar to Munich logo. Deichmann claimed back that Munich trademark was not distinctive. Yet, in June 2019, the Court of European Justice and, right now, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) have eventually acknowledged the legitimacy of Munich trademark intrinsic feature.
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