Judge rules that Skechers copied Stan Smith design
10/08/2017
In September 2015, Adidas sued Skechers after claiming it had infringed on the brand’s Stan Smith sneaker, its three-stripe trademark and its “Supernova” trademark. A preliminary ruling in February 2016 issues an injunction prohibiting Skechers from selling two styles of shoes and from using the word “Supernova” with a third style. All three had already been discontinued.
A judge in California has now decided there are several factors that go in Adidas’ favour in the dispute over its Stan Smith design. In a ruling on August 3, the judge said Adidas had been able to present “strong circumstantial evidence” that consumers associate the Stan Smith style with Adidas, rejecting a claim for Skechers that the style was too “generic” to be protected.
Furthermore, the court said Adidas had provided evidence that showed Skechers “set out to clone the Stan Smith shoe”. The Skechers shoe in question is the ‘Onix’.
The ruling means that the trademark infringement claim will not be thrown out, as Skechers had wanted.
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