Converse puts boot into rivals with multiple lawsuits

US shoemaker Converse has put the boot into more than 30 companies by accusing them of infringing its trademark for the design of one of its signature trainers.

Converse, which has been owned by sportswear multinational Nike since 2003, has sued 31 retailers and rival shoe designers in separate lawsuits filed at the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York and the International Trade Commission (ITC).

The lawsuits, filed yesterday (October 14), call for monetary damages and an injunction against Walmart, Fila, Kmart, Skechers and several other companies that would prevent sales of the shoes.

The accused companies could also be hit with an exclusion order banning imports into the US if the ITC decides to launch an investigation and rules in favour of Converse.

The complaints centre on Converse’s signature Chuck Taylor sneaker, first introduced in 1917.

In the complaints, Converse said it owns trademark registrations for the “distinctive midsole design made up of a toe bumper and a toe cap, plus an upper strike and/or a lower stripe”, a design that it said has become synonymous with Converse.

It added that it has sold approximately one billion pairs of shoes since the design was launched and has spent “hundreds of millions” of dollars in advertising and promoting shoes bearing the trademark.

Converse said that the defendants had been selling “confusingly similar” imitations and in similar channels of trade, resulting in a likely confusion.

In a statement, Converse’s chief executive Jim Calhoun said the company welcomed fair competition but "we do not believe companies have a right to copy the Chuck's trademarked look".

In the complaint, the shoemaker said it has served around 180 cease-and-desist letters to retailers selling alleged look-a-like trainers in the past six years.