SKECHERS USA Inc, a global leader in the lifestyle footwear industry, announced that it denies all of the patent and trade dress infringement and unfair competition and trade practice claims asserted against the Company on July 10, 2008 by Colorado-based Crocs, Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. The complaint alleges, among other claims, that SKECHERS' Cali Bear logo, which is a depiction of a bear, infringes Crocs' Crocodile logo.
“We believe that this lawsuit is completely without merit and will vigorously defend ourselves against such baseless allegations,” says Philip G. Paccione, General Counsel and Executive Vice President of SKECHERS. “Among the outlandish allegations is that SKECHERS' Cali Bear logo is confusingly similar to Crocs' Crocodile logo, and that advertising SKECHERS' products in Boulder, Colorado somehow dilutes the value of Crocs' trademarks and appropriates Crocs' goodwill. Even a cursory review of the two animal marks demonstrates that the allegations are ridiculous.
“As far as advertising in Boulder, Colorado, SKECHERS has had a loyal following in Colorado long before Crocs even existed and we have an absolute right to do that. We believe that this lawsuit is nothing more than a never-ending attempt by Crocs to monopolize the molded footwear market by bullying competitors and customers and misusing the United States Patent Office and federal courthouse. SKECHERS prefers to compete in the market place through the quality of its products and image.”
Paccione continued, “Crocs allegations on the shoe designs will fare no better. As owners of numerous famous trademarks and patents in the footwear industry, SKECHERS respects the intellectual property of other brands and spends tens of millions of dollars each year to design and prominently brand and distinguish its own products from competitors.
The designs at issue in this case are distinguishable from Crocs' patents and there is no possibility that anyone will be confused by the SKECHERS designs. Indeed, SKECHERS has many of its own design patents in the molded footwear category, including some covering the very styles at issue in this case. Moreover, SKECHERS footwear and packaging are prominently branded with the world famous SKECHERS name and trademarks at every turn, which Crocs conveniently ignores.”
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