Skechers USA, Inc. has secured its 70th patent worldwide for its Shape-ups footwear line.
The most recent United States patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,779,557), issued on August 24, 2010, covers the Kinetic Wedge midsole technology, the part of Shape-ups which is the key to providing fitness benefits to consumers.
“We are proud to announce the most recent addition to our Shape-ups patents,” said Leonard Armato, president of SKECHERS Fitness Division. “We have invested tremendous resources into developing this revolutionary footwear, and we go to great lengths to protect our retail partners and consumers from imitations and knockoffs. We are very aggressive in enforcing our patents throughout the world and routinely stop companies from infringing our rights.”
Skechers noted that the recent patent was issued just days after an independent review board in New Zealand ruled that “the claims in the [Shape-ups] advertisement regarding muscle tone, posture and weight loss had been substantiated by [Skechers] . . . .”
Skechers also noted that this was the second time in recent months that an independent panel made a favorable ruling relating to Shape-ups fitness claims. Earlier this year an independent review board in Australia said that Skechers provided a substantial amount of evidence in support of Shape-ups fitness claims and ruled that Skechers' competitors failed to provide any evidence to challenge Skechers' claims.
Armato continued, “While we are pleased by securing these patents and the independent rulings on the fitness claims, they simply reinforce what our own studies and thousands of unsolicited consumer testimonials have told us all along: Shape-ups is a unique footwear technology that provides wonderful fitness benefits to consumers. We will continue to invest in developing new toning technology and designs, and to protect and enforce our rights worldwide.”
