Court rules: Dockers violates Skechers patent, shoes not for sale in the EU

Skechers USA Inc. has received an injunction from the European Union after successfully suing shoe brand Dockers by Gerli, the company announced in a press release. Dockers allegedly sold a shoe that copied the design of Skechers' model 'Hands Free Slip-Ins'.

Skechers brought an action against Dockers before the Düsseldorf Regional Court. On 5 October, the German court ruled that Dockers shoes did indeed infringe one of the heel pad designs of Sketchers' 'Hands Free Slip-Ins'. It then issued a 'preliminary injunction', which means Dockers can no longer sell the shoes in the European Union.

"This lawsuit is one of many enforcement actions Skechers is taking against third parties around the world to protect its intellectual property rights in the Skechers Hands Free Slip-ins designs and technologies," said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. "While the ruling may be appealed, we are very pleased that sales of the shoes were immediately halted throughout the European Union."

Greenberg continued: "Skechers invests heavily in product development to bring its customers new, unique and exciting shoes year after year. While Skechers always prefers to compete in the marketplace rather than in court, the company has no choice but to take legal action when competitors infringe our intellectual property rights. Skechers will continue to aggressively monitor and enforce its proprietary rights in the Skechers Hands Free Slip-ins."

This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.NL