The shoe manufacturer Skechers filed a lawsuit on Monday in the Southern District of New York against outdoor apparel store L.L. Bean, claiming that the latter was selling a shoe (the Freeport Shoe) that was not authorized by Skechers.
In the lawsuit, Skechers claimed that its heel cup shoes, which have “unique and eye-catching” designs, have sold “millions of pairs.” Skechers also claimed that L.L. Bean entered the market with its own “Freeport shoe” model after its Heel Cup shoes gained popularity thanks to celebrity endorsements from Willie Nelson, Martha Stewart, Snoop Dogg, Doja Cat, and other celebrities. The company claims that the sneaker, which retails for $99 on L.L. Bean’s website copies Skechers’ unique heel shape and violates two of the company’s design patents.
The lawsuit claimed that L.L. Bean didn’t release its copycat sneaker until Skechers had taken “the substantial risk and monumental expense” of creating and marketing its shoes with these Heel Cup designs and proven that they were widely appealing.
Taking all of the above into consideration, Skechers is requesting an order and judgment prohibiting L.L. Bean from violating its “Heel Cup”-related patents going forward, as well as specific damages, including triple damages for any deliberate infringement, and the cessation of sales of shoes that violate the patents.
It is not new for Skechers to use the legal system to defend its designs. In the past, the firm claimed that numerous shoe companies had copied its well-known slip-in shoe designs, notably Laforst Shoes Inc. and Dockers by Gerli. Soon after Brooks Sports resolved a separate trademark dispute against it, Skechers filed a complaint alleging trademark infringement against Steve Madden in the previous year. In such situations, the focus was on shoes that had the trademarks of the parties, which were, respectively, the stylized letter “S” logo and the word mark “BEAST.”
The comfort shoe company filed a case in April of this year in the U.S. District Court located in California. The complaint claimed that Skechers’ patents were violated by American Exchange Apparel Group (AEG) in relation to its “Scalloped Opening” shoe designs, a well-liked feature on Skechers’ flats. Steve Madden was sued by Skechers in June for allegedly stealing one of their distinctive design marks.