Steve Madden accused of design patent infringement
Fashion company Steve Madden has been accused of copying patented designs on a range of sandals, “rather than undertaking its own independent development”.
The JPT Group, which owns the ‘ Bernando’ shoe brand, filed its complaint at the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, on Friday, September 15.
Steve Madden was accused of infringing US design patent numbers D581,149 and D577,182 through the sale of its ‘Pamela’ line.
The shoe consists of a strap which goes in between the big toe and second, with pearls attached to the material.
JPT claimed that this infringed the patents it owns for use on its ‘Mojo’ sandals, which feature a similar design with a silver studded strap.
According to the complaint, JPT has “complied with the statutory requirement of placing a notice of the JPT patents on its Mojo sandals”.
JPT also accused Steve Madden of “wilful infringement”, claiming that the fashion brand knew about the allegedly infringed patents.
The complaint went on to reference litigation from November 2015, where Steve Madden was again sued by JPT for design patent infringement in relation to its ‘Virrtue Thong’ range of sandals.
The case was dismissed with prejudice in February 2017.
Steve Madden is no stranger to IP infringement lawsuits—in June, the fashion company was sued by Valentino over purses and strap designs.
According to the claim, Steve Madden copied Valentino’s ‘Double purse’ design and a ‘Camubutterfly strap design’, which is a bag strap that looks like a guitar strap with a butterfly design.
Steve Madden was also accused of trade dress infringement by AirWair, a subsidiary of footwear brand Dr Martens.
According to the claim, the copying had been a “systematic and deliberate” attempt to trade on the “popularity and distinctive appearance and design” of Dr Martens’ footwear.
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