Skechers is heading back to court. The lifestyle footwear brand announced Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit against Steve Madden for product infringement for its Go Walk collection.
Skechers names the Setta, a basket woven slip-on sneaker and part of the Steven by Steve Madden line, as the infringing product. Skechers is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief for infringing on multiple Skechers’ patents.
In a statement, David Weinberg, chief operating officer at Skechers, said, “Skechers has invested tremendous resources into designing, developing, advertising and patenting our Skechers Go Walk and our other popular product lines and has built them into a name and look globally recognized and synonymous with Skechers.”
He added that the company believes in competition, but is experiencing considerable damage as Steve Madden is selling their shoes in Skechers’ wholesale channels.
Weinberg continued, “We plan on taking similar action against any company that develops any products that infringe on the patents of the Skechers Go Walk or any of our other popular product lines and any retailer that sells the Steven by Steve Madden Setta style.”
Last year, Skechers sued Fila, DB Shoe Company and Reebok over similar claims that the footwear companies infringed on Go Walk patents.