For more than 100 years, Americans have relied on L.L. Bean for footwear of all kinds, especially cold-weather gear like their iconic Bean Boots. The company sells different sorts of shoes and designs, but one in particular has landed them in some legal trouble.
Skechers, the world's third-largest footwear company, just filed a lawsuit against L.L. Bean for what it believes to be an infringement of two of the brand's patented designs. According to Reuters, Skechers claims that L.L. Bean's Freeport casual shoes, named after the company's hometown in Maine, feature the same "heel cups" for the back of the foot that Skechers has patented for their own shoes.
Skechers insisted in its filing that its designs are "unique and eye-catching" because they use "graceful, sweeping, gently rolling lines and slopes" that make the footwear appear like a real heel. It noted that it wasn't until it introduced the shoe that L.L. Bean began selling a similar model.
"Only after Skechers incurred the substantial risk and monumental expense of developing and promoting its shoes with these heel cup designs, and established that they had broad appeal, did L.L. Bean enter the market with its infringing shoe," Skechers said.
The complaint is seeking unspecified damages, including triple damages for any willful patent infringement, as well as the immediate cessation of sales of the $99 shoes. The case remains in Manhattan federal court.
Men's Journal has reached out to a rep for L.L. Bean for comment.
