By: Sharon Urias, Esq.
Patent and trademark litigation lawyers have been kept busy this past year by suits over a product that might surprise many consumers – shoes.
Last year the French shoemaker Christian Louboutin filed his trademark lawsuit against designer Yves Saint Laurent over Louboutin’s red-soled designer shoes. Louboutin won his litigation case earlier this year.
Gucci and Guess also went toe to toe last year in a trademark infringement lawsuit over pricey bowling shoes, with Gucci being the victor in that particular litigation.
In yet another lawsuit over shoes, in July of last year, Vibram filed a lawsuit against Fila USA, alleging that Fila’s Skele-toes footwear infringes on patents that cover Vibram’s FiveFingers shoes.
Vibram, who launched their concept in 2005, touts its FiveFingers footwear as a revolutionary shoe that allows a user’s anatomy to work more naturally and move more freely. The five toe-compartmented shoe is super light and gives those barefoot enthusiast consumers the barefoot feeling they love. The company claims the shoe will help make a user’s feet stronger and healthier naturally. Before Vibram createdFiveFingers, no minimalist footwear manufactured with individual toe pockets that encouraged natural, barefoot movement existed.
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In the spring of 2011, along comes Fila with its new, revolutionary, light weight, toe-compartmentalized, more natural shoe, the Skete-toes. With the introduction and popularity of Fila’s new shoe came the not surprising lawsuit from Vibram that alleged that Skele-toes infringes on several of Vibram’s U.S Patents that cover a variety of footwear designs compromising individual toe pockets.
Fila USA responded to the lawsuit last year by stating the company would vigorously defend itself against Vibram’s complaint. Fila issued a statement denying the charges, stating that before they released theSkele-toes line of footwear, the company determined the shoe did not infringe on any existing patents. Although Vibram’s shoes have five compartments and Fila’s only four, the designs are quite similar, which would justify a patent lawsuit.
The lawsuit between the two footwear companies was settled this month, but representatives for both companies refused to comment and the terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Original story here.
