Nike, the Washington County company, filed its 14-page lawsuit this week in Oregon’s US District Court. The company claims Skechers used designs that were too similar to Nike’s shoes for the Manhattan Beach, CA, company’s Burst, Women’s Flex Appeal, Men’s Flex Advantage, Girl’s Skech Appeal and Boy’s Flex Advantage shoes.

Flyknit designs

According to Nike, the shoes infringed on its Flyknit designs covered by three patents. The company is asking the court to order Skechers to stop making shoes with the infringing designs, and award Nike an unspecified amount of damages, which could include profits from the sale of Skechers' shoes.

According to Nike attorneys, the company ‘ripped off’ Nike designs and even used phrases that sounded very similar to marketing to sell adidas' Boost sneakers. Skechers' spokeswoman Jennifer Gray provided no comment with regard to the pending litigation.

Converse legal fight

This is the second time in more than a year that a Nike company has squared off legally against Skechers for patent infringement. In October 2014, Nike-owned Converse sued 31 companies, including Skechers and Wal-Mart, in 22 federal lawsuits and before the International Trade Commission, saying the shoemakers and retailers infringed on the trademark Chuck Taylor style by producing similar-looking knockoff sneakers.

In November 2015, ITC Chief Administrative Law Judge Charles Bullock ruled that some of the shoes made by Skechers and others did not infringe on Converse’s trademark. The judge also concluded that Converse's trademarks were valid and enforceable and blocked any future infringement of those rights.

A statement by Nike said Bullock's ruling "validated Converse’s intellectual property rights in the iconic Chuck Taylor All Star and supported our right to enforcement." Nike also said that the company remained "confident in the merits of our case and that the respondent companies will be held accountable for the knockoffs they produce."

Skechers

Publicly traded Skechers told shareholders that the company had set aside about US 5.9 million to fight the Converse trademark lawsuit. Skechers USA is a US 2 billion company that makes and markets more than 3,000 styles for men, women and children.

The company offers two distinct footwear categories: a lifestyle division that includes the charity line BOBS and Relaxed Fit comfort shoes, and a performance division that includes Skechers GOrun and GOwalk footwear. Through licensing agreements, the company offers branded apparel, bags, watches, eyewear and additional merchandise. Skechers has an extensive network of global distributors that sell its product through more than 1,200 company-owned stores in over 120 countries and territories.

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