Skechers filed a lawsuit on Sept. 4 in the Southern District of New York, accusing Rockport, its parent company, Authentic Brands Group (ABG), and its licensee, Marc Fisher Footwear, of selling shoes that allegedly infringe on its slip-in technology.
“Rockport shoes infringe Skechers’ utility patent claims protecting innovations associated with its slip-in footwear technology. By this action, Skechers seeks to stop defendants’ patent infringement and obtain appropriate compensation for that infringement,” the US footwear company said in the complaint.
Skechers added that Marc Fisher “is responsible for the design, production, marketing, e-commerce, and wholesale of the products accused of infringement in this litigation.”
In July 2023, ABG took over the troubled US footwear firm The Rockport Company, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 15 for the second time in five years.
ABG signed a long-term licensing agreement with Marc Fisher Footwear, a full-service fashion footwear company which became the core footwear partner for Rockport in the US, taking on the brand’s footwear design, wholesale and e-commerce operations in the territory.
Over the past months, Skechers has been active in engaging into legal challenges for alleged intellectual property violations.
In July 2024, Skechers filed a lawsuit against L.L. Bean, accusing the Maine-based retailer of allegedly copying a shoe design, according to media reports.
The lawsuit, filed in New York City federal court, claims that L.L. Bean’s Freeport casual shoes infringe two patented designs for “heel cups” that surround the back of the foot.
In April, it filed a complaint with the US District Court in California accusing American Exchange Group of allegedly infringing on patents related to its “Scalloped Opening” shoe design.
According to Skechers, American Exchange Group’s design infringes on nine of its patents.
In October 2023, Skechers obtained a European Union-wide preliminary injunction against Dockers by Gerli for selling a shoe style that the US footwear company claims infringes on its proprietary Skechers Hands Free Slip-ins designs. Skechers sued Dockers for design infringement in the Düsseldorf Regional Court, Germany.
In August 2023, Skechers filed a patent infringement lawsuit accusing California-based Laforst Shoes of copying its slip-in shoe design. The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 17 in the central district of California. In June 2023, Skechers filed a trademark lawsuit against Steve Madden Ltd., claiming that its “Kennie” line of sneakers violated Skechers’ trademark rights in its “S” logos. In April of last year, Skechers reached a settlement with French luxury brand Hermes to end a patent lawsuit related to Skechers’ proprietary Massage Fit sole technology.
