The two top sneaker companies in the world, Nike and Adidas, have settled many U.S. patent challenges involving the technology found in their sporting shoes.
In December, Nike filed a lawsuit against Adidas in Oregon and before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), claiming that several Adidas shoe designs violated patents connected to the company's lightweight Flyknit technology. Based on the complaint, the ITC opened an investigation into Adidas' footwear in January.
Adidas asserts that Nike's Adapt shoe-fitting technology, Run Club and Training Club fitness applications, and SNKRS app for limited-edition shoe sales all infringe on its patents in a separate complaint it filed in East Texas in June.
On Tuesday, the companies jointly requested that the Oregon court dismiss Nike's lawsuit. On Thursday, they requested the dismissal of the cases before the Texas court and the ITC.
Adidas was previously sued by Nike in East Texas in 2005 on the grounds that certain Adidas sneakers infringed upon two patents pertaining to shoe design. In 2007, the businesses decided to end the case.
In 2020, Adidas was unsuccessful in its attempt to have two Nike Flyknit patents declared invalid by a U.S. appellate court.
[The cases are In the Matter of Certain Knitted Footwear, No. 337-TA-1289, U.S. International Trade Commission; Nike Inc v. Adidas AG, U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, No. 3:21-cv-01780; and Adidas AG v. Nike Inc, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, No. 2:22-cv-00198.]