New Balance, headquartered in Boston, has filed a lawsuit against the French company Decathlon, alleging trademark infringement and brand dilution. The complaint was filed today in the federal court of Massachusetts, United States.
The core of the dispute lies in the design of Decathlon's Kiprun running shoe model. According to the petition, the inverted 'K' on the side of this footwear resembles the 'N' that New Balance uses in its own models.
The legal document states that the defendants, Decathlon, recently began marketing sports shoes with a logo design that infringes upon and dilutes New Balance's registered and customary trademark rights.
NB maintains that it has used the letter 'N' 'exclusively' in its products since the 1970s and argues that the French brand's model is 'unequivocally an N'. The company emphasizes that it has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in promoting its 'N' brands and creating an exclusive link between them and New Balance as the product's origin, considering this letter one of the 'company's most valuable assets'.
Through this lawsuit, the company requests that the federal court order the cessation of the alleged infringement of its trademark rights, in addition to seeking compensation for damages and losses incurred.
This is not the first case in which the Boston-based company has sued other companies over design issues; previously, there were lawsuits filed against Michael Kors and Nautica.