Nike and Skechers have reached a settlement at undisclosed conditions of their long-standing legal battle, putting an end to three intellectual property lawsuits after the mediation of a judge for the Central District of California. The dispute started in January 2016, when Nike accused Skechers of using design elements of its own Flyknit and Free shoes, protected by Nike patents, in some of the latter’s sneakers, including the Burst, the Women’s Flex Appeal, the Men’s Flex Advantage, the Boy’s Flex Advantage and the Girl’s Skech Appeal. Skechers responded that the eight related patents were not patentable, but the court denied a request for their review. In September 2019, Nike filed another lawsuit against Skechers, claiming that it had made “Skecherized versions” of Nike styles such as the Air Max 270 and the VaporMax. One month later, the Swoosh attacked Skechers again, accusing the company of violating certain utility patents regarding Nike’s cushioning technologies with the Skech-Air Jumpin’ Dots and Mega models. Skechers has been the target of similar lawsuits by other brands including Adidas and Converse. It settled with Adidas in 2018.

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