There is a recent lawsuit that has been filed in court. The lawsuit pits Skechers a famous footwear company and L.L. Bean. It is one of the most interesting lawsuits of modern days and its details speak extensively to how competition between businesses companies often result in court all because of some minor details, here are the details of the lawsuit:
The Main Issues in the Skechers and L.L Bean Lawsuit
The main issue between Skechers and L.L Bean is the issue of intellectual property infringement. The bone of contention in the matter is the issue is quite simple and complex at the same time. In the matter, Skechers is accusing L.L Bean of patent infringement where Skechers accuses L.L Bean of infringing on their shoes designs heel cup designs to be specific.
In the lawsuit, Skechers argue that the L.L Bean new shoe design is a direct copy cut of their shoe design. They allege that L.L Bean copied their best and very unique design specifically of their heel cups. Skechers went ahead to describe L.L Bean shoes as being sweeping, graceful and gently rolling just like their shoes. In the words of Skechers, this close resemblance poses a serious threat to their business.
Skechers find this to be so wrong and the close resemblance of their products and those of L.L Bean can only mean that L.L Bean copied them. In the words of Skechers, this copying seeks to achieve nothing but gain an unfair competitive edge in the market all that while leveraging the patent of Skechers something they find to be so wrong and deserving of serious legal accountability.
L.L Bean Response to Skechers Lawsuit
L.L Bean is aware of the lawsuit by Skechers against them and all the allegations contained in it. However, the company has denied any wrong doing claiming that their new product launched to the market has nothing to do with Sketcher’s products. L.L Bean further argued that their new product did not in any way infringe on the intellectual property of Skechers further distancing itself from any claims of wrongdoing.
The Current Status of the L.L Bean Skechers Lawsuit
The lawsuit pitting L.L Bean and Skechers is not any different from the others which have come up in the past where one company has accused another of intellectual property infringement or such like matters. As for the L.L Bean vs. Lawsuit, the matter ended without going all the way to a court ruling.
While the details of the out court of settlement between these two companies remain unknown, speculations are that these two companies sat and reached an agreement to settle the matter out of court. It is alleged that the two companies reached an agreement after L.L Bean and Skechers agreed that L.L Bean withdraws all the modern products that resembled those of Skechers.
With that request granted, Skechers chose to discontinue the lawsuit satisfied that the new products by L.L Bean were no longer a threat to their business. Given the scanty details of this lawsuit, it is not clear if Skechers made other demands to L.L Bean or not and whether Skechers met the demands placed to them if there were any placed by Skechers.
The Issue of Intellectual Property Rights
The L.L Bean and Skechers lawsuit and the entire argument between these two companies is not new. There have been such cases in the past where one company accuses the other of one thing and the other company comes out to defend itself. One of the hottest areas of contention is the issue intellectual property rights.
Companies have increasingly become protective of their intellectual property rights in recent days especially in cases where the intellectual rights grant them some edge in the market. When infringed upon, the affected company can move to court to seek compensation for the damages suffered during the period in question.
This whole issue also comes with some challenges to some companies as well. For instance, if one company invents something and names it an intellectual property, it becomes hard for another company and more so one competing with it to come up with goods and products that almost resemble those which have been invented by a rival company.
This was the exact case with the L.L Bean and Skechers where Skechers accused L.L Bean of intellectual property infringement. As these cases increase it has become essential for there to be a legislation that will govern the manner in which such matters are handled. If not, there are going to be more and more conflicts of this nature which will certainly cripple some businesses and their operations.
Final Thoughts
The L.L Bean vs. Skechers lawsuit is one of the latest lawsuits where two companies are fighting over intellectual properties. The lawsuit was settled out of court though some details about the lawsuits remain unknown to this day.