GERMANY: Adidas and Nike in battle over knitted shoes
By Petah Marian | 26 September 2012
Adidas has been ordered to stop manufacturing and distributing its Adizero Primeknit shoe in Germany, after Nike was granted an interim injunction for patent infringement.
US-based Nike said it was "pleased" that the District Court in Nuremberg has granted the interim injunction, and that it will look to present its case for a permanent injunction.
Nike introduced its Flyknit footwear in February, while Adidas's shoe was launched at the end of July. Both shoes feature a knitted upper, with structure and support knitted into the shoe.
Nike said it has a "strong heritage of innovation and leadership in footwear design and development. Our patents are the foundation of that leadership and we protect them vigorously".
A spokesperson for Adidas told just-style that it has only "just received the court papers and are reviewing them", but it does not comment on pending litigation.
However, in an interview conducted with Counterkicks before the litigation started, Adidas' head of design for sport performance, James Carnes, said it would have been "impossible" to copy the process used by Nike in a matter of months, and that it has been working on the shoe for the past four years.
"It's always been the case that great ideas break to the surface at the same time because we live in an interconnected world with environmental, economic and societal pressures," he reportedly told the site.
"If, as a company, you are paying attention and are at the top of your game, you are always searching for the next breakthrough discovery to meet these needs. It took us four years to get here, and you'll see us continue to pioneer innovative processes like this."
Sectors: Footwear
Companies: Nike
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