Nike Inc. has sued Wal-Mart Stores Inc., claiming that the retailer is selling athletic shoes that infringe on Nike’s design patents. In the complaint filed Oct. 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Nike targeted Wal-Mart shoes that allegedly mimic Nike’s Shox line, which consists of shoes designed to look like they have springs in the heels. Nike named two patents related to the “Shox” brand.
The Wal-Mart shoe used the name Detra. “Wal-Mart knowingly and intentionally sold and continues to sell the infringing Shoes as simulations of Nike shoes,” the Nike complaint states. Nike also called Wal-Mart’s actions “intentional and willful.”
The complaint includes side-by-side comparisons of Nike’s own sketches for Shox and the Wal-Mart shoe.
NKE requested an injunction against Wal-Mart and “an award of damages adequate to compensate Nike for the patent infringement.”
The lawsuit between the two giants comes about a year after the two began to part ways.
Nike had been selling to Wal-Mart through its Exeter Group subsidiary and the Starter brand, but sold the brand to Iconix Group in November 2007. Nike has had more success in the discount channel selling the Converse One Star brand to Target Corp. Wal-Mart has not responded to the lawsuit.
