Nike filed a legal complaint against adidas-Salomon in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The complaint identifies several adidas products that allegedly infringe upon Nike's patented SHOX cushioning technology. These products include shoes using adidas' a3 cushioning system, including the new Kevin Garnett signature shoe and its adidas_1 footwear.
The Nike patent protects technical columnar design features of the Shox system that maximize stability and performance of the shoe.
“Nike is widely recognized for its product innovation in footwear and athletic products and we invest heavily to provide performance products to our consumers. It is deeply frustrating and inappropriate when companies borrow or refashion such technologies as their own without making similar investments,” said Eric Sprunk, Vice President, Global Footwear, Nike, Inc.
“Nike often reinvests its revenues into research and development of such new products. Understandably, Nike and its shareholders cannot allow infringement to occur unchallenged,” added Sprunk.
During last week's World Shoe Association Show in Las Vegas, Nike also served complaints on two other companies infringing on Nike's intellectual property and patents. Those companies, Air Max Import and Export Inc. and Romeo and Juliette had previously come to Nike's attention regarding violations of Nike's patent rights.
