Peloton hits back against Lululemon with sports apparel suit
Exercise bike manufacturer Peloton Interactive has taken Lululemon Athletica to court after the athletic apparel maker allegedly threatened its own lawsuit over Peloton’s new apparel line.
The lawsuit—which was filed on Wednesday, 24 November, at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York—comes two and a half months after Peloton launched its own apparel line, following the termination of a five-year co-branding relationship with Lululemon.
Peloton claimed that the termination of the Peloton-Lululemon co-branding relationship was amicable and that Lululemon “did not object in any way to Peloton’s termination decision or Peloton’s offering of its own activewear apparel”.
However, in early November, Peloton allegedly received a cease-and-desist letter from Lululemon’s outside counsel, which claimed that five of Peloton’s apparel products were infringing on design patents held by Lululemon.
The letter also reportedly stated that Lululemon would file an infringement suit if Peloton refused to comply.
According to Lululemon, five of Peloton’s women’s apparel—Strappy Bra, Cadent Laser Dot Legging, Cadent Laser Dot Bra, Peloton Branded High Neck Bra, and Cadent Peak Bra—infringed six of Lululemon’s design patents.
Additionally, Lululemon allegedly claimed that the Peloton Branded One Lux Tight (a co-branded product sold by another activewear apparel company, which Peloton buys and adds its branding to) infringes Lululemon’s trade dress for its Align pant.
“Almost every retailer in the activewear market offers a similar legging with a banded waist. The pattern for Lululemon’s Align pant is not sufficiently distinctive from the multitude of other products on the market,” said Peloton.
Peloton has argued that Lululemon’s allegations lack any merit and that “even a quick comparison of the Lululemon patented designs with the allegedly infringing Peloton products reveals numerous clear and obvious differences that allow the products to be easily distinguished”.
The suit added that Peloton’s and Lululemon’s brands and logos are distinctive and well-recognised, making confusion “a virtual impossibility”. Peloton also claimed that Lululemon’s claimed design patents are invalid because they are anticipated and/or obvious so can’t be infringed.
"Given Lululemon’s baseless threats, Peloton brings this action to obtain a declaratory judgment that Peloton’s apparel products do not infringe Lululemon’s design patents and trade dress,” said the suit.
Peloton has asked the court for a declaration that it has not infringed Lululemon’s design patents and trade dress, and that Lululemon's design patent claims are invalid.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox
Today’s top stories
