US Supreme Court denies hearing Nike and Adidas patent dispute

Credits: Image: Nike Flyknit Racer The US Supreme Court has declined to hear Nike’s shoe patent dispute with the sportswear retailer’s German competitor Adidas, a move that came in regards to the former’s attempt to overturn a decision made by the US Patent Office to cancel part of a shoe patent. Court documents revealed that Nike was contesting the tribunal’s decision to invalidate its proposed substitute patent elements based on arguments that Adidas had not raised at the time. This brought to a potential end just one of the long-winded disputes raised by the two sportswear giants, who have been butting heads over various patents linked to the design of knit uppers. Nike was first awarded a patent in March 2008 that provided it with ownership of a textile component made from “different stitch configurations with varying textures” formed using knitting processes. While Adidas went on to petition for a review for the patent, Nike made a move to amend the patent by cancelling previous claims and proposing substitute claims, one of which was opposed by Adidas, which alleged they were still unpatentable. The dispute was then brought to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which sent the case back to the board twice and later rejected a third appeal by Nike last year, leading the brand to submit a petition to the Supreme Court. Nike had initially filed its suit in December 2021, claiming Adidas was infringing on several of its footwear patents, namely its Flyknit knitted upper technology. Adidas then issued a counterclaim against Nike, stating that the company “knowingly and intentionally” infringed on nine patents of its own proprietary athletic technology, with a particular reference to Nike’s Run Club app.
http://dlvr.it/SrLcgF