Source: Foot Locker / Foot Locker
After months of suing multiple people and corporations for various reasons, Nike has now been slapped with a lawsuit against them as Adidas is alleging that the swoosh giant committed patent infringement of their technology on the Nike SNKRS app.
Complex is reporting that Adidas filed the lawsuit this past Friday (June 10) in Eastern Texas federal court claiming that Nike infringed on nine of their patents including those related to its sneaker reservation app, Confirmed and the Adidas_1 sneaker. Aside from taking issue with the way that Nike goes about their reservation method (which adidas says was their idea first), the brand also has beef with Nike’s “Adapt” tech which they feel is a blatant ripoff of their “Smart” tech.
Adidas is targeting Nike’s Adapt technology, the company’s dive into “smart” footwear. Adapt is an electronically-enabled platform that automatically customizes the fit of a sneaker to the wearer’s foot. Nike first explored “auto-lacing” sneakers when the Back to the Future-inspired Mag was re-released with an early version of the technology in 2016. The more refined Adapt system made its retail debut in 2019. Adidas claims Adapt infringes on the Adidas_1, which it says was the first shoe that ever “sensed and adjusted the comfort of the shoe while the shoe was worn.” The Adidas_1 was announced in 2004 and released in 2005.
Yeah, as regular sneakerheads who aren’t up on that kind of technology, those allegations can go either way to us.
As for the whole reserving kicks aspect of the lawsuit, Adidas claims that they started the method back in 2015 with their Confirmed app only to see Nike announce that they would be dropping their own SNKRS app which many felt was meant to rival the Adidas app. Unfortunately for both companies, both apps are equally hated by sneakerheads across the board though the SNKRS app does tend to get more hate due to the amount of L’s distributed on a weekly basis. Heads only get mad at the Confirmed app whenever Yeezy’s drop.
“Adidas has long been a leader in mobile technology, including technology related to mobile fitness and mobile purchases,” states the lawsuit. “Adidas was the first in the industry to comprehensively bring data analytics to athletes.”
Adidas is seeking “damages in an amount sufficient to compensate Adidas for the defendant’s infringement,” as well as a permanent injunction against Nike that would prevent the company from further infringing on its patents.
Interestingly enough Nike apps Run Club and Training Club have also been listed as examples of infringement in the lawsuit. Whether or not adidas wins the case remains to be seen but regardless to whom or what it’s lowkey amazing (or, par for the course) to see the three stripes go after their long-time rival in a court of law.
Do y’all think adidas has a case on their hands or are they simply reaching at this point? Let us know in the comments section below.
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