A Michigan woman has filed a lawsuit against Nike asking for a humble $3 billion over an alleged patent infringement.
Daisy Washington-Cross filed a complaint against the sportswear giant last week claiming it infringed upon her "Detachable Beeper Disc Digital Gym Shoe with Sensor" (whatever that means). Washington-Cross says she's got a patent pending for the futuristic-sounding shoe, although The Fashion Law points out that no patents are listed under her name in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database and she doesn't list any patent numbers in the suit.
The complaint was filed via the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan.
According to Washington-Cross's lawsuit, she sent Nike a letter about the shoe back in 1995. Per the suit:
"The plaintiff wrote a letter to Nike, Inc. on November 10, 1995 in regards to a letter sent to Nike about the first Computer Gym Shoe called 'The Detachable Beeper Disc Digital Gym Shoe.' The letter was sent to Mr. Thomas M. Horgan and Mr. Robert M. Lyden. I wanted to see if Nike could have a shoe ready by the 1996 Olympics. Nike has an app. called 'Subject: Create your own Nike (Nike Plus) Sensor'"
It's worth noting that Nike typically sends out form letters rejecting any sort of outside pitches like this to avoid possible legal action.
Washington-Cross lost a similar lawsuit she filed against Reebok in 2000 over a "Beeper Disc Digital gym shoe."
Washington-Cross says in her claim that she's willing to provide drawings of the shoe in the unlikely event things move forward, so perhaps the world will finally get a chance to see the ground-breaking design she's been sitting on for so long.
