Nike has filed a suit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan against Lululemon Athletica, alleging the infringement of six U.S. patents by the latter’s Mirror Home Gym and related apps, reportedly after Lululemon summarily rejected Nike’s demand to stop the alleged infringements. The Mirror is an interactive, wall-mounted screen that delivers live and streamed workouts. It is installed in a growing number of Lululemon stores. Among the offending functions cited in the lawsuit are an exercise prompt, a heart-rate monitor and the collection of performance data. Nike’s claim is based on a patent application that it filed in 1983 for a device that measures the speed, distance, time and calories expended for a runner as well as other patents used by the Swoosh for its Nike+ running app, its SportWatch, its FuelBand and the Nike+ Kinect for the Xbox 360. Nike is reportedly seeking an award of triple damages and attorney’s fees. Stating that it will defend itself in court, Lululemon issued a statement describing Nike’s patents as “overly broad and invalid.” The Canadian-based sportswear company acquired Mirror in 2020 for €500 million and is at present involved in a suit and countersuit with another firm in the connected-fitness market, Peloton.

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