The activewear giant opened legal proceedings on Monday, alleging that the Canadian sportswear brand’s Blissfeel, Chargfeel Low, Chargfeel Mid and Strongfeel sneakers infringe patents related to textile and other design elements of its footwear.
“Nike’s claims are unjustified, and we look forward to proving our case in court,” a Lululemon spokesperson told BoF in an email.
Lululemon entered the footwear category in March 2022 with the launch of its Blissfeel running sneaker for women.
This is not the first time Nike has taken to court action against Lululemon. Nike previously sued the Vancouver-based label over alleged patent infringements relating to its activewear rival’s Mirror Home Gym product and related mobile apps, in January last year.
BoF reached out to Nike but the brand wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Last week, Nike also sued Bape, also known as A Bathing Ape, alleging the Japanese streetwear brand had created “near verbatim copies” of its Air Force 1, Air Jordan 1 and Dunk sneaker designs, according to court documents.
Learn more:
Activewear’s Biggest Disruptors
Breaking into the $384 billion sports apparel market is no easy task, but fast-growing start-ups are stealing market share by creating specialised, fashion-forward products around underserved interests.
