Puma suffers blow in dispute with Forever 21
Puma has suffered a blow in its design patent, trade dress and copyright dispute with Forever 21, after failing to obtain an injunction against the retailer.
In April of this year, in a claim filed at the US District Court for the Central District of California, Puma sued the fashion retailer over its Yoki Sneakers.
Puma said Forever 21 had “blatantly copied” its Fur Slide sandal, which is a slip-on shoe featuring a “plush fur” side strap with a satin foam backing.
In 2015, in collaboration with Rihanna, Puma developed and launched the Creeper trainer under the brand name Fenty Puma by Rihanna.
The Creeper is protected by US patent number D774,288 as well as trade dress, the claim said.
The Fenty shoes are also protected by copyright, the elements of which include “the ridged vertical tooling and grainy texture encompassing the thick rubber outer sole”, according to the suit.
It added that Forever 21 has “blatantly copied” these shoes through its product Yoki Sneakers.
US District Judge Philip Gutierrez found Puma had failed to carry its burden in demonstrating that a preliminary injunction should be warranted.
“Other than some exhibits containing website printouts and news articles concerning Forever 21, Puma submits no additional evidence of harm,” he said in the refusal.
In the initial claim, Puma stated that it had “suffered irreparable damage through defendant’s acts”.
However, this point was also dismissed by Gutierrez.
He said: “Puma has adduced no evidence that its brand value has been diminished or that monetary damages are insufficient.
“As it relies solely on Adam Petrick’s [Puma’s global director of brand and marketing] unsupported and largely speculative assertions of harm, Puma has failed to meet its burden of showing that it will likely suffer irreparable harm if a preliminary injunction is not issued.”
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