Nike And Adidas Settle Flyknit Patent Infringement Suit

Nike (NYSE: NKE) filed the settlement paperwork Tuesday after the case had little movement since January. In December 2021, Nike filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Adidas alleging the rival sneaker maker had used Nike's knitted footwear technology without permission.

Nike also requested that the U.S. International Trade Commission begin an investigation against Adidas, based on its "unlawful and unauthorized importation" and sale of products that infringe on Nike's patents protecting its Flyknit technology.

Nike's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, describes Flyknit as one of its "game-changing technologies," resulting from more than a decade of research and development and hailed as "the most groundbreaking sneaker innovation in over 40 years."

Nike debuted the Flyknit Racer running shoe in February 2012, touting its lightweight, knitted construction that is said to reduce production waste. Four months later, Adidas' Primeknit technology was released with many of the same traits and technology as Nike's Flyknit.

In September 2012, Adidas was ordered by a German court to temporarily stop producing and distributing Primeknit footwear in Germany after Nike filed a patent infringement claim.

What followed before the 2021 suit were many appeals back and forth over a span of three years in the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals and Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The entities in July 2020 upheld two Nike patents, which left Adidas open to the subsequent infringement lawsuit.

Source:bizjournals.com-Demi Lawrence 

Editor:IPR Daily-Selly