Wolverine files lawsuit against Harbor Footwear and Kohl’s
Leading American casual, active, work and outdoor sport footwear manufacturer and retailer Wolverine World Wide Inc. has filed a patent infringement suit with the
The styles cited in the lawsuit are the patented Merrell ‘Jungle Moc’, which Wolverine claims that Harbor Footwear and Kohl’s are selling under the GBX brand as two different styles of ‘Rainier’; The Merrell ‘Jungle slide’, which is being marketed under the GBX brand as the ‘Trail Clog’; and the GBX ‘Trail Sport’ which Wolverine claims is a copy of the Merrell ‘Winter Moc’. Merrell – owned by Wolverine – holds over 170 design patents, with an additional 120 pending approval and is determined to protect these from being copied by other brands.
“Merrell has evolved into a global brand, offering a broad range of innovative and technically superior performance outdoor and active lifestyle footwear," said Jacques Lavertue, president of Wolverine's Outdoor Group. "Since Wolverine World Wide acquired Merrell, we have invested significant time and resources to grow and foster this brand on a global basis. Today, these investments are returning strong results for both Merrell and our retail partners, and we fully intend to protect them.
"While the footwear community typically respects the creative rights and the intellectual property developed by other companies, some in our industry find it easier to copy successful patterns rather than develop their own styles. Merrell will not tolerate the violation of our innovative and proprietary designs, and will aggressively defend our intellectual property through the courts.
“We hope this lawsuit will be a wake-up call to manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers and let them know there is a price to pay for illegally profiting from the sale of knock-off products."
