Nike sues Lululemon over ‘Mirror Gym’ tech patents
Nike has accused competitor Lululemon Athletica of infringing six fitness tech patents by making and selling an at-home “Mirror Gym” and an accompanying mobile app.
The Oregon-based sportswear giant filed a complaint alleging patent infringement at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York yesterday, January 5.
According to Nike, Lululemon’s Mirror Home Gym system has several features, including a digital heart rate monitor, exercise alerts, and a method of collecting and presenting athletic activity data that infringe its patents.
The six patents in suit are Nike’s US numbers 8,620,413; 9,278,256; 9,259,615; 10,188,930; 10,232,220; and 10,923,225.
Nike is seeking a judgment that Lululemon has directly infringed its patents, an injunction barring Lululemon from selling any infringing products, and an order for Lululemon to pay triple damages.
Lululemon, which primarily sells sportswear, acquired home fitness start-up Mirror for $500 million in 2020, according to the New York Times.
It completed the acquisition in July 2020 and started selling the Mirror Home Gym in stores in select US stores in November that year.
A letter addressed to Nike from Morrison & Foerster attorney Diek Van Nort on behalf of Lululemon denies the allegations that the “Mirror” or the accompanying app infringe the six Nike patents.
It details how the collection of exercise data, exercise alerts and the transmission of information between the “Mirror” and the app differs from the methods detailed in Nike’s patents.
In a statement made to Reuters, a Lululemon spokesperson said: “The patents in question are overly broad and invalid. We are confident in our position and look forward to defending it in court.”
Last month, Nike filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission asking the agency to block Adidas from importing its “Primeknit” sneakers into the US.
Nike sought an immediate investigation as to whether the sale of Primeknit shoes infringe its knitted footwear asserted patents as well as a permanent exclusion order and cease and desist orders.
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