New Balance filed a lawsuit in federal court in Boston against Decathlon for allegedly violating its trademark rights over its “N” logo. New Balance charges Decathlon’s Kiprun running shoes feature a mirrored “K” logo that is “unmistakably an N.”
In the complaint first reported by Reuters, New Balance said that in January it requested that Decathlon change their design due to likely confusion over the logo in the marketplace, but Decathlon declined, holding that the logo is a K. New Balance said that this was “half true at best.”
The lawsuit also cited YouTube videos, Instagram reels and Reddit threads in which individuals noted the logo’s resemblance to New Balance’s “N” and said Decathlon’s design would confuse potential customers.
On April 6, Kiprun began three shoes in the U.S on its own website and at a few specialty running retailers, including Running Warehouse and Run Moore. The suit cites eight Kiprun models now being sold to U.S. customers, from the $130 Kipsummit up to the $350 Kipstorm Lab.
New Balance is seeking an order blocking the alleged infringement and an unspecified amount of monetary damages.
New Balance previously filed and settled similar U.S. lawsuits over its “N” logo with Michael Kors in 2021 and Nautica in 2019, and won a $1.5 million ruling in a Chinese court against shoemakers there over the logo in 2017.
The case is New Balance Athletics Inc v. Decathlon America LLC, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, No. 1:26-cv-14235.
Image courtesy of Decathlon
