SKECHERS Wins Favorable Ruling in Nike Lawsuit
November 19 2015 - 12:21PM
Business Wire
The Chief Administrative Law Judge of the
International Trade Commission Ruled that Skechers’ Famous Twinkle
Toes and BOBS Product Lines Do Not Infringe Converse’s Chuck Taylor
Design
SKECHERS USA, Inc. (NYSE:SKX), a global footwear leader and the
second largest athletic footwear brand in the United States, today
announced that it has won an important ruling over Nike, Inc.’s
wholly-owned subsidiary Converse Inc. relating to the Converse
Chuck Taylor shoe.
In October 2014, Converse sued Skechers in federal district
court and before the International Trade Commission (“ITC”)
alleging that the Company’s famous Twinkle Toes and BOBS product
lines infringed its Chuck Taylor midsole common law and registered
trademarks. The case went to trial before the ITC in August
2015.
In a November 17, 2015 opinion, the Chief Administrative Law
Judge of the ITC, the Honorable Charles E. Bullock, ruled that
Skechers’ Twinkle Toes and BOBS product lines do not infringe
Converse’s registered trademark for the Chuck Taylor midsole. In
making his ruling, the Judge noted that both of the Skechers
product lines feature prominent branding and that the Twinkle Toes
line contains design features that “create enough differences that
the shoes bearing them cannot be said to be similar to [the Chuck
Taylor].” The Judge also stated that the survey evidence concluded
that there was no likelihood that consumers would confuse the
Skechers designs with those of Converse’s Chuck Taylor designs.
"While we expected this result, we are still very pleased with
the Judge’s ruling on Twinkle Toes and BOBS,” stated Michael
Greenberg, president of Skechers. “Skechers is an ardent brander
that spends more than $100 million a year in advertising for the
very purpose of distinguishing its brands and products from those
of its competitors. Our investment in our distinctive designs and
brand identity has helped build Twinkle Toes into the number one
shoe line for young girls and both Twinkle Toes and BOBS into
household names synonymous with Skechers – not with Converse or any
other brand. The Judge's ruling recognizes this.”
In addition, the Judge ruled that Converse has no common law
trademark rights in the Chuck Taylor midsole because the design is
not distinctive, not famous and has failed to acquire secondary
meaning.
Skechers was represented in the matter by Morgan Chu, Samuel Lu,
Lindsay Kelly, Melissa Rabbani and Jad Mills of Irell &
Manella; Jeffrey Barker of O’Melveny & Myers; and Barbara
Murphy of Foster, Murphy, Altman & Nickel.
About SKECHERS USA, Inc.
SKECHERS USA, Inc., based in Manhattan Beach, California,
designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle footwear
for men, women and children, as well as performance footwear for
men and women. SKECHERS footwear is available in the United States
and over 120 countries and territories worldwide via department and
specialty stores, more than 1,200 SKECHERS retail stores, and the
Company’s e-commerce website. The Company manages its international
business through a network of global distributors, joint venture
partners in Asia, and 13 wholly-owned subsidiaries in Brazil,
Canada, Chile, Japan, Latin America and throughout Europe. For more
information, please visit skechers.com and follow us on Facebook
(facebook.com/SKECHERS) and Twitter (twitter.com/SKECHERSUSA).
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements include, without limitation, the Company’s future
growth, financial results and operations, its development of new
products, future demand for its products and growth across the
Company’s three main business channels and globally, its planned
expansion and opening of new stores, advertising and marketing
initiatives, and the conclusion of legal matters. Forward-looking
statements can be identified by the use of forward looking language
such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,”
“plan,” “project,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will result,”
“could,” “may,” “might,” or any variations of such words with
similar meanings. Any such statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those projected in forward-looking statements. Factors that
might cause or contribute to such differences include international
economic, political and market conditions including the uncertainty
of sustained recovery in Europe; entry into the highly competitive
performance footwear market; sustaining, managing and forecasting
costs and proper inventory levels; losing any significant
customers; decreased demand by industry retailers and cancellation
of order commitments due to the lack of popularity of particular
designs and/or categories of products; maintaining brand image and
intense competition among sellers of footwear for consumers;
anticipating, identifying, interpreting or forecasting changes in
fashion trends, consumer demand for the products and the various
market factors described above; sales levels during the spring,
back-to-school and holiday selling seasons; and other factors
referenced or incorporated by reference in the Company’s annual
report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 and its
quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30,
2015. The risks included here are not exhaustive. The Company
operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment.
New risks emerge from time to time and the companies cannot predict
all such risk factors, nor can the companies assess the impact of
all such risk factors on their respective businesses or the extent
to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties,
you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements
as a prediction of actual results. Moreover, reported results
should not be considered an indication of future performance.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151119006307/en/
Skechers USA, Inc.Jennifer ClayVP of Corporate
Communications310-937-1326
Skechers USA (NYSE:SKX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Skechers USA (NYSE:SKX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024