Target dismissed out of Uggs infringement lawsuit

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Jul 6, 2017

Target has been dismissed out of a lawsuit where Deckers Outdoor Corporation (Deckers) sued it for design patent infringement relating to boots that were alleged knockoffs of Deckers-owned Uggs.

The case was filed in California court in September 2016. When Deckers filed its complaint against Target, it named ten additional Doe defendants to preserve its right to sue the actual manufacturer who made the boots.

When Target answered the complaint, it provided the name of Nina Footwear dba Nina Shoes. Deckers then added New York-based Nina Shoes as a co defendant with Target in November. Nina Shoes has been in the shoe business since 1953 and is the manufacturer of the boot in question.

At the heart of the lawsuit is a registered design patent owned by Deckers, called the '999 patent. The style of the Ugg "Bailey Button" boots, which Target is accused of copying for its own button model, are based on this.

In the complaint, Deckers notes this was not the first time it threatened to sue Target for infringing on its '999 patent. Deckers argued that the defendant's "pattern of infringing on the '999 design patent" is evidence of "willfulness and the intent to unfairly trade off of the goodwill established by Deckers in its intellectual property."

Deckers actively defends its '999 patent. In 2014 it sued Walmart and J.C. Penney for selling boots that infringed on the button boot design. In September 2016, Deckers also filed separate lawsuits alleging similar patent infringement against six other retailers in California. Defendants included J.C. Penney and Muk Luks boots' parent company, Reliable Knitting Works.

The current Target case was sent to mediation at the end of March of this year. Last week, the judge ordered Target to be dismissed out of the suit. The case is not over however. Nina Shoes remains an active party still in court with Deckers.