Dr Martens secures permanent injunction over trade dress
Airwair International, a subsidiary of footwear brand Dr Martens, has secured a permanent injunction against online shoe store Wanted Shoes in a trade dress lawsuit.
A settlement and permanent injunction was signed by US District Judge Susan Illston at the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Thursday, September 7.
The ruling comes nearly a year after Dr Martens filed its complaint, which claimed that Wanted had unlawfully sold boots that use the Dr Martens trade dress and distinctive features of Dr Martens footwear.
This included a two-tone grooved sole edge, beige stitching in the welt area, and a heel loop.
“Wanted intentionally copied the Dr Martens trade dress in its infringing footwear in order to capitalise on the reputation and fame of the Dr Martens brand”, the complaint stated.
According to the claim, Airwair holds various registered trade dress designs for its Dr Martens shoe, including US numbers 2,102,468 for the undersole and 2,437,750 for the welt stitch located around the perimeter.
These were registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office in 1997 and 2001 respectively.
Last week’s ruling stated that Wanted had sold approximately 14,000 pairs of the Wanted “Platinum Footwear” range, with sales revenue totalling approximately $216,000.
“Platinum Footwear” was a range of boots that Dr Martens had claimed infringed its registered trade dress marks. The boots are no longer sold.
The document stated that Wanted “acknowledges the validity of the trade dress registrations” and that it agreed not to contest the validity of such trade dress in any future proceedings between the parties.
Illston permanently enjoined Wanted from manufacturing, promoting or offering for sale “any footwear or any component part thereof that contains any of the Dr Martens trade dress.
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