Nike Suit Accuses Lululemon of Patent Infringement

Nike is suing Lululemon for patent infringement, the latest court action by the sneaker giant.

The suit, filed in federal court Monday (Jan. 30), accuses the Canadian apparel maker of infringing on Nike’s patents with at least four of its footwear offerings, Reuters reported.

The complaint argues Nike has suffered economic harm and irreparable injury from Lululemon’s sale of its Blissfeel, Chargefeel Low, Chargefeel Mid and Strongfeel shoes.

Nike contends its three patents at issue deal with textile and other elements, including one addressing how the shoes perform after force is applied.

The suit seeks unspecified damages. PYMNTS has contacted Lululemon for comment but has not yet received a reply.

The lawsuit is the latest in a long series of legal actions taken by Nike over the past year, the most recent being its suit last week against Bape, a little-known sneaker company whose business model, Nike claims, “revolves around copying Nike’s iconic designs.”

A report by Reuters noted that Bape began selling sneakers in the U.S. during the 2000s, but only saw its sales take off in 2021 when it allegedly began copying Nike’s designs. The suit claims the company refused Nike’s request to cease selling those products.

In October, Nike updated its terms of sale as part of its efforts to crack down on sneaker resellers. The new rules allow Nike to reject sales, decline refunds or suspend the accounts of customers it says are buying products to resell them.

In May of last year, Nike expanded its legal action against footwear marketplace StockX by alleging that the latter sold counterfeit sneakers, asking the court to add claims of counterfeiting and false advertising to its existing lawsuit about trademark infringement, which involved StockX’s non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Bringing things full circle, Nike began 2022 with another suit against Lululemon and Mirror, the home gym company the clothing firm had acquired. In that suit, Nike again claimed several of its patents had been violated.

“Without judging the merits of Nike’s suit, the case clearly reflects the growing competition and profits that exist in the connected fitness category and a heightened sense of concern over protecting their intellectual property,” PYMNTS wrote at the time.

In fact, that report noted, Lululemon was already engaged in a patent suit of its own, having accused treadmill and stationary bike-maker Peloton of violating Lululemon’s patented line of leggings and sports bras with its own apparel offerings.

The companies settled the suit in September of last year, with Peloton agreeing to phase out certain products without admitting to any wrongdoing.

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