Adidas recently developed a new type of shoe that has a “blade-like” attachment to the bottom of the shoe. This design is meant to give runners and walkers more spring in their step (both metaphorically and literally). The line of shoes are called Springblades, and their overall look and design was so enticing that Skechers simply couldn’t help themselves — again.
Skechers made a similar-looking shoe to the Adidas Springblade called the Mega Flex. It, too, has a blade-like structure to help runners get some more bounce when they are performing their activities. Adidas filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Skechers, marking the third time in the last year that a major athletic gear company has sued Skechers.
Adidas was also involved in one of the other lawsuits in this past year, which was for trademark infringement. Nike was the other major athletic gear company that sued Skechers, claiming patent infringement on at least eight different patents. Nike claimed that Skechers was copying the overall look and design of their shoes.
Skechers has also been sued numerous other times by smaller companies on similar grounds. Clearly Skechers has some work to do in terms of their development of new shoes.
While this may seem trivial to some, these patents and trademarks are the lifeblood of these companies. The products a company makes and sells — in this case, shoes — must be protected by patents and trademarks, otherwise they are vulnerable to the copycatting ways of other companies.
Source: CNN Money, “Adidas to Skechers: Stop ripping off our shoes,” Chris Isidore, July 11, 2016