By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – LL Bean, the clothing and outdoor gear company, agreed to stop selling a line of casual shoes to settle a lawsuit in which Skechers USA accused it of copying a design for its own shoes, which have sold in the millions.
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett in Manhattan approved an injunction on Thursday that bars privately-held LL Bean from making, importing or selling shoes that infringe two Skechers design patents until the last of the patents expires.
In a complaint filed in July, Skechers claimed that LL Bean’s Freeport shoes, named for that company’s Maine hometown and which retailed for $99, infringed two patented designs for “heel cups” that surround the back of the foot.
The world’s third-largest footwear company accused LL Bean of trying to piggyback on the success of its own unique heel cup design, which it said incorporated “graceful, sweeping, gently rolling lines and slopes” that resembled the shape of a heel.
Other settlement terms were not disclosed. Skechers had also sought unspecified damages. Its patents expire in 2038, according to the complaint.
Neither LL Bean nor its lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment. Skechers and its lawyers did not immediately respond to similar requests.
LL Bean was founded in 1912. Skechers was founded in 1992 and is based in Manhattan Beach, California.
The case is Skechers USA Inc et al v LL Bean Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 24-05336.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Diane Craft)
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