Skechers sues Sears over shoe patent, trademark claims

Skechers USA Inc. sued Sears Holdings Corp. for selling footwear that infringes the patents and trademarks for products such as Shape-ups and Twinkle Toes.

Skechers is seeking monetary damages and a court-ordered prohibition of the sale of the products, the Manhattan Beach, California-based company said today in a statement.

“While we value our relationship with Sears, their actions are causing us tremendous damage, and we simply cannot let any company, let alone a company the size of Sears, infringe on our most valuable intellectual property,” Philip Paccione, Skechers' general counsel, said in the statement.

Sears is selling the allegedly infringing products, which go by the brand names TheraShoe, Melrose Avenue, Paris Blues and Athletech, at Sears and Kmart stores and on websites, Skechers said. Sears and Kmart also sell Skechers shoes, according to their websites.

“We don't comment on pending litigation,” Kimberly Freely, a spokeswoman for Hoffman Estates-based Sears, said in a telephone interview.

Also named as defendants are Kmart, which is owned by Sears Holdings, and the Academy of Therapeutic Footwear. The charges include trademark dilution, trade dress infringement and unfair competition.

Sears Holdings operates more than 4,000 stores in the U.S., including Lands' End.

Skechers rose 30 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $20.02 at 2:49 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares had fallen 1.4 percent this year before today. Sears gained $1.30, or 1.6 percent, to $84.54 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares had risen 13 percent this year before today.

The case is Skechers USA Inc. v. Sears Holdings Corp., 11- 01893, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles).