Case Law: Intellectual Property Rights

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The case selected is Adidas America Inc. v. Payless Shoesource Inc.

The profile of the company (plaintiff) Adidas USA is that it is the US operation of Adidas-Soloman AG in 2001. Adidas claimed that Payless ShoeSource Inc marketed shoes and sportswear that were confusingly similar to those of Adidas. Currently, Adidas AG is a German footwear and athletic clothing company having its headquarters in Bavaria, Germany. Currently, Adidas is the largest maker of sportswear in Europe and the second-largest sportswear maker in the world. Adidas USA is a part of the Adidas Group. The business was founded by Adolf Dassler in 1920 who operated in his mother's laundry room. In 1924 he was joined by his elder brother and was renamed the "Dassler Brother Shoe Factory". Dassler supported the development of spiked running shoes in several athletic events. The net income of Adidas AG has declined from € 1.9 billion in 2019 to €619 million in 2022. During this period the sales revenues have also declined from €23 billion to €22 billion. Adidas revenue per share is €61.42, gross margin is €10.7 billion and the diluted earning per share is €0.69. Also, Adida's quick ratio is 0.65, the current ratio is 1.25, the long-term debt to equity is 37.2%, and the total equity debt is 82.04%. Adidas with its subsidiaries including Adidas US designs, produces, and sells sports lifestyle products of which footwear is the most important. The other products it sells include gear, apparel, bags, and balls. These are sold at Adidas retail stores, shop-in-shops, and franchise stores. Adidas also sells its products through e-commerce and wholesale.

The defendant company was Payless. It is a discount footwear chain that became defunct four years from now in 2019. The headquarters of Payless was located in North Miami, Florida. Payless was founded in 1956 by Louis and Shaol Pozez. In 1961 Payless became a public company, the Volume Shoe Corporation. Payless merged with The May Department Stores Company (1979).During the 1980s, Payless became well known for low-priced sneakers that had Velcro straps. In 1996 Payless became a publicly held company. In 2007, Payless acquired Stride Rite Corporation and its expansion continued, with 2011 the revenues of Payless reaching $3.4 billion. In 2019 the Payless North American stores filed for bankruptcy. According to 2017 figures, the revenues of Payless were $3 billion, The net income according to 2012 figures is 149.8 million. Currently, Payless is a private company. In 2018, Payles had operations in more than 3,500 locations in 40 countries. The current owners of Payless are Axar Capital Management and Alden Global Capital. Payless was re-launched in 2020 and commenced business on its e-commerce ...