Adidas sues Skechers for copying its Stan Smith shoe

By

Olivier Guyot

Published
Sep 22, 2015

Adidas is determined to defend its brand identity in the US. According to the American press, the German giant's US subsidiary is reported to have filed a complaint against Skechers in the Oregon Federal Court in mid-September. 

Adidas accused Skechers of misleading consumers by using Adidas' own brand image for itself. Skechers' Onyx model is a very close copy of Adidas' highly popular Stan Smith shoe.

Although in the last few seasons the instances of shoes similar to the infamous model have multiplied, Skechers isn't a player comparable to other brands in the industry. The US group recently claimed the number two spot among sport footwear brands in America. Nike, of course, remains number one. The Adidas management teams, attempting to regain its position in the USA, clearly could not have been happy with this development.

The group is thus firmly safeguarding its position with the US justice system. Last August it sued the Forever 21 group for copying its three-stripe trademark.