Columbia Sportswear reports that a court in Milan has granted a preliminary injunction against Geox, authorizing the seizure of certain Amphibiox branded shoes in Italy because they are likely to have infringed a patent held by its OutDry Technologies subsidiary for waterproof and breathable footwear. Similar legal action is pending in a court in Düsseldorf for the German market. Columbia says that the interim decision is subject to appeal, but an official of Geox said that his company prefers to follow the procedure in the lower court until its final verdict. He added that OutDry's claims refer to a limited number of styles that Geox discontinued after OutDry filed its lawsuit in December 2012 and that are probably no longer being sold in Italy. He stated that Geox is confident that none of the Amphibiox models offered since the autumn/winter 2013/14 season is infringing OutDry's patents (more in Shoe Intelligence, which will also publish the results of Geox, and The Outdoor Industry Compass).

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