Source: Nike / NIke
Once again Nike is back in court on the offensive as they’ve decided to bring yet another lawsuit against a few competitors who they feel are infringing on their creations.
According to Complex, Nike has filed a few patent infringement lawsuits against both Skechers and New Balance for biting their beloved Flyknit technology and using it on their own footwear silhouettes. Suing both companies for “unauthorized use of it’s patented technology,” Nike is looking to shut down both brands from continuing to produce and sell it’s increasingly popular footwear lines.
Citing dozens of Skechers models and 21 New Balance sneakers in their lawsuit which they allege ripped off their Flyknit tech, Nike wants the courts to step in and not only award them damages, but also stop both companies from continuing to bank off what they say was their original creation.
Complex reports:
Nike holds a number of different patents for its Flyknit material, the first of which was granted in September 2012.
Nike has sued Skechers over alleged Flyknit infringement before, but this is the first time the brand has taken aim at New Balance. In January, Nike contacted New Balance in an attempt to flag the issue before going through with the lawsuit, but claims New Balance has instead “only escalated the scope of its infringing activities.”
Nike isn’t playing when it comes to their chips. Whether you’re an independent sneaker creator or a big conglomerate of a company, if they feel your hand in their pocket, they’ll try to cut it off. Heck, it might get to the point where Nike starts suing customers for not rocking their footwear with the proper attire and making them look bad.
Following the lawsuit, New Balance decided to acknowledge the situation and released a statement on the matter.
“New Balance fully respects competitors’ intellectual property rights, but Nike does not own the exclusive right to design and produce footwear by traditional manufacturing methods that have been used in the industry for decades. We will vigorously defend ourselves against Nike’s attempts to enforce its patents beyond their lawful scope.”
When reached for comment, Skechers declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Skechers doesn’t want that Nike smoke and might fold quick-fast. New Balance meanwhile seems ready to fight to the end to maintain it’s growing popularity.
What do y’all think of Nike slapping New Balance and Skechers with this lawsuit? Are they justified or just plain old greedy at this point? Let us know in the comments section below.
