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Skechers and Kizik Both Claim Victory in European Patent Case

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Skechers and Kizik Both Claim Victory in European Patent Case

The patent battle between the two shoe brands in the U.S. is still ongoing.

Skechers and Kizik are both claiming victory after a panel of judges in Munich, Germany, issued a ruling late last week regarding an ongoing patent lawsuit filed last year.

On Oct. 17, the panel of judges agreed and ruled that some Skechers step-in shoes infringed on a Kizik parent company HandsFree Labs’ patent, according to a copy of the decision reviewed by FN.

In the decision, Skechers is ordered to cease making, distributing, and selling those styles of step-in shoes in Europe. However, the judges narrowed the scope of the decision to cover only sneakers that incorporate a specific design with elastic side panels and a heel stabilizer. In doing so, the court rejected the claim against certain Skechers styles listed in the original complaint.

The judgment, issued by the Unified Patent Court in Munich, applies to the 18 European Union states that are under the court’s jurisdiction.

In a statement sent to FN on Monday, Gareth Hosford, chief executive officer of HandsFree Labs and Kizik, said that this decision “shows that the system works.”

“We’re pleased the court recognized the strength of our patent, and we’ll keep defending the technology our team built,” Hosford noted.

In its own statement on Wednesday, Skechers claimed its own victory. “Skechers won on three of the four styles, with the fourth being a minor and commercially insignificant style for Skechers,” the statement said.



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