Steve Madden “sells sneakers, but instead of innovating its own designs, it often copies others,” Converse asserts in a newly-filed complaint. The Nike-owned brand, which filed suit against Steve Madden in a federal court in Boston late last month, claims that Madden is on the hook for infringing two design patents that cover ornamental elements of its statement-making Run Star Hike platform sneaker.
According to its complaint, Converse claims that it “has produced several iconic sneaker designs over the past century,” with “one of its more recent designs [being] the Run Star Hike,” which it debuted on the runway in London during J.W. Anderson’s Spring/Summer 2019 runway show in September 2018, and began offering up for sale in the U.S. in February 2019 to “instant interest and success because of its unique design.”
Seeking to lay legal claim to the design of the shoe, which is a mash-up of a platform sneaker and Converse’s All Star high tops, Converse says that it has “taken steps to protect the Run Star Hike design, including by filing and obtaining design patents” – while likely also laying the ground work to claim trade dress rights in the design, as well – and as of early this year, was awarded two design patents for elements of the shoe, namely, the sole.
Read full article: https://www.thefashionlaw.com/converse-claims-that-steve-madden-repeatedly-ripped-off-unique-sneaker-in-new-lawsuit/
