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Walmart and Vans have settled a trademark lawsuit that accused Walmart of infringing the designs of Vans’ best-selling shoes. Walmart agreed to the court order which permanently blocked them from selling the alleged infringing shoes.
The claim started in 2021 where Vans sued Walmart for allegedly copying virtually all their best-selling sneakers, including its Old Skool low-top and Sk8-Hi high-top shoes. Within the claim, Vans said that Walmart’s copies, which cost less than $20, were “cheap, poorly made, and confusingly similar” to Vans £60 shoes.
Vans sought a temporary injunction on the sale of the infringing shoe, however Walmart countered Vans request for the injunction by arguing that Vans designs were ineligible for trademark protection, and they could not prove Walmart’s shoes were likely to cause consumer confusion. Walmart further added Vans could not show the “irreparable harm” necessary for an early block on its sales.
The U.S. District Judge concluded that Walmart’s shoes “clearly bear striking similarities” to Vans. Furthermore, it was held that Walmart showed some intent to confuse consumers and that there were evidence customers had actually been confused. Therefore, the Judge granted Vans request to temporarily block sales of the infringing Walmart shoes last year.
However, Vans told the court that Walmart continued to sell the infringing shoes months after the temporary injunction, this meant that Walmart allegedly breached the order and continued to sell the infringing shoes. The Judge rejected Vans claim to hold Walmart in contempt for allegedly breaching the order.
The dispute has now been settled according to the filing in the California Federal Court.
The court filing said: “The parties plan to lodge a Consented Permanent Injunction within three days. The parties’ settlement agreements include undertakings to be completed within 30 days.”
Both parties have requested the court cancel all currently scheduled dates in relation to the case, including the trial date, which was due to start on Tuesday, 28 November 2023.
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