Amid Legal Skirmishes, adidas to Resume Selling Primeknit Shoe
The legal battle continues between Nike and adidas regarding their respective Flyknit and Primeknit sneakers. Although Nike was granted a temporary injunction against adidas for patent infringement, the most recent victory in this drawn out saga goes to adidas.
(Compare them for yourself: Nike’s Flyknit and adidas’s Primeknit.)
The shoes share several noticeable similarities. Both uppers consist of a single piece of fused yarn, as opposed traditional methods of stitching several different pieces of yarn together. Nike unveiled the Flyknit this past February and was granted a patent on its Flyknit technology—the process they use to melt the yarn on the shoe’s upper. It was only a week before the London Olympics that adidas debuted their Primeknit sneaker.
According to adidas, Nike’s patent application should have been denied since the technology Nike claims to have created has existed since the 1940s. Earlier this month, to the benefit of adidas, a German court rejected Nike’s request for an injunction against adidas, stating that adidas was not given a chance to plead their case ahead of the ruling.
Pleased by the decision, adidas plans to put its Primeknit shoe back on shelves as soon as possible. However the battle is far from over as Nike evaluates its legal options. “This is just one step in the process. We will continue to aggressively protect our intellectual property rights,” said Nike in a written statement.
Photo: adidas
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Amid Legal Skirmishes, adidas to Resume Selling Primeknit Shoe
The legal battle continues between Nike and adidas regarding their respective Flyknit and Primeknit sneakers. Although Nike was granted a temporary injunction against adidas for patent infringement, the most recent victory in this drawn out saga goes to adidas.
(Compare them for yourself: Nike’s Flyknit and adidas’s Primeknit.)
The shoes share several noticeable similarities. Both uppers consist of a single piece of fused yarn, as opposed traditional methods of stitching several different pieces of yarn together. Nike unveiled the Flyknit this past February and was granted a patent on its Flyknit technology—the process they use to melt the yarn on the shoe’s upper. It was only a week before the London Olympics that adidas debuted their Primeknit sneaker.
According to adidas, Nike’s patent application should have been denied since the technology Nike claims to have created has existed since the 1940s. Earlier this month, to the benefit of adidas, a German court rejected Nike’s request for an injunction against adidas, stating that adidas was not given a chance to plead their case ahead of the ruling.
Pleased by the decision, adidas plans to put its Primeknit shoe back on shelves as soon as possible. However the battle is far from over as Nike evaluates its legal options. “This is just one step in the process. We will continue to aggressively protect our intellectual property rights,” said Nike in a written statement.
Photo: adidas