Skechers has once again been caught lifting sneaker designs from a rival brand, and has once again drawn the ire of adidas via a lawsuit. A new filing alleges that Skechers copied adidas' Springblade sneaker with shoes like the Skechers Mega Flex and Mega Blade.
Court documents reference articles such as this one and YouTube comments in which it's clear that the public recognizes the similarity in the designs. It also presents the below, fairly damning side-by-side comparison of the two models.
In the complaint, filed on Monday in U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore., adidas is seeking damages "in an amount sufficient to compensate adidas for [Skechers'] infringement of the patents-in-suit, but not less than a reasonable royalty, together with interests and costs."
Adidas condemned Skechers' approach to footwear design (if one can call it that) in a strongly worded statement issued on Monday.
"We will not stand by and allow others to blatantly copy our products and infringe on our valuable intellectual property," the brand said, via a spokesperson. "These shameless imitations tarnish the reputation of our brand and our people who work tirelessly to research and develop technical innovations and designs that help athletes make a difference."
Adidas previously sued Skechers over its lifting of the popular Stan Smith sneaker design.
Readers can see the latest lawsuit from adidas in its entirety below.
