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Geox founder praises patent protection

25/02/2015
The founder of Geox, Dr Mario Moretti Polegato, has revealed that he offered his patented system for producing breathable soles to a number of footwear companies, including Spanish sports brand Kelme, before launching on his own. Dr Moretti Polegato’s family business is to make some of Italy’s best prosecco sparkling wine, which he envisaged continuing rather than branching out into footwear himself.

However, when, in the 1990s, he failed to convince Kelme or any of the firms he approached in Germany and the US to buy the idea, he founded Geox on his own. The brand now has stores in more than 100 countries.

His idea to make breathable soles came from walking one day in the desert in Nevada. Unable to bear the discomfort of hot feet any longer, he took a Swiss Army knife from his backpack and cut holes in the soles of the shoes he was wearing.

In recent comments to media, Mario Moretti Polegato said he was delighted to have moved as quickly as he did to secure patents for the Geox system. He said too many Italian ideas had become multimillion-dollar business for companies outside Italy, quoting Starbucks and Pizza Hut as prime examples. He urged entrepreneurs to follow in his footsteps: when they have an idea, they should describe it fully and register it.


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