What did Steve Madden do? New Balance lawsuit drama explained

New Balance Athletics Inc. has filed a new lawsuit against Steve Madden LTD on Tuesday, June 7, 2022 at the United States District Court, District of Massachusetts. Steve Madden is under fire from New Balance, who has filed the case claiming trademark infringement, design patent, and unfair competition.

According to the plaintiff, New Balance, the defendant, Steve Madden, deliberately tried to copy the plaintiff’s protected and well-known 327 model sneaker and sold a fairly similar Chasen model, which is a trade-off of New Balance’s goodwill, design, and reputation.

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More about the New Balance v/s Steve Madden Lawsuit drama

NB's 327 model on the left, and Madden's Chasen model on the right (Image via stockx/amazon)

According to a lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court by New Balance, the label alleges that the New Balance's 327 model sneaker, which was launched in 2020, bearing a distinctive and novel design, was one of the most popular and best-selling shoe silhouettes. The complaint reads,

"New Balance launched its 327 model sneaker (the '327') bearing a novel and distinctive design in 2020. The 327 (pictured on the left, below) quickly became one of New Balance’s most popular and best-selling shoe models."

The complaint further reads that according to New Balance, Steve Madden launched its Chasen model, a deliberate knock-off of the 327 model, in late 2020 or early 2021. The knock-off was a tactic by the Madden company to free ride on New Balance's 327 model. The complaint reads,

"Upon information and belief, in late 2020 or early 2021, Madden launched its 'Chasen' model sneaker, a deliberate knock-off intended to free-ride off of the popularity of New Balance’s 327."

Note: Comparative picture is given above.

The NB complaint reads that the instant success of the 327 silhouette led the Steve Madden company to launch its Chasen model and that's not all, they copied the model's distinctive outsole design, mimicked the diagonal downward stripe and modified the New Balance's iconic "N" logo with the "SM NY90" lettering.

Elsewhere in the lawsuit, the Boston-based sportswear giant New Balance's complaint reads that the company has also utilized its famous "N" logo and micmicked its design with two diagonal downward stripes.

They further claimed that the design pattern of the Chasen silhouette is infringing upon the NB's D932,755 and D939,813 design patents for the sole of the 327 sneaker.

To further support their argument and case against Madden, they charged Madden to follow this pattern regularly. The complaint reads,

"It appears that copying the designs of other shoe manufacturers is standard operating procedure for Madden, and it has been sued for misappropriating the creative designs of competitors more than a dozen times in recent years. This is yet another example of Madden stealing the creative work of its competitors and trading off of their goodwill."

The complaint further reads about how Madden has been involved in many lawsuits since 2006. Some previous plaintiffs against Steve Madden include companies and labels like Rothy's, Converse, and Ugg-owners Deckers Outdoor Corp.

On the trademark front, New Balance claims to have used the stylized "N" lettering over the shoes and apparel of the label since 1970s which predates the use of Steve Madden's diagonal downward sloping stripes.

They further claimed that the "N" moniker has appeared on New Balance products for more than 40 years, which has resulted in more than a billion products being on the market with its iconic logo. The complaint reads,

"Since the 1970s, New Balance has exclusively used distinctive N marks to identify its goods. The designs may vary slightly, but an N has appeared on the side of nearly all New Balance footwear sold for more than forty years. In the aggregate, New Balance has used an N on more than one billion products sold in the United States."

NB claims that Steve Madden's use of the downward diagonal stripes could cause confusion amongst consumers or cause them to think that the shoe is affiliated with New Balance. This likelihood is heightened as they're both selling their products at the same retailers such as Nordstrom and Macy's.

In the complaint, NB asks of the judge to bar Madden from using any derivatives thereof or design that may cause a patent infringement issue or bear a similar "N" mark, as well as pay for monetary damages that have occurred till now. They further ask of Steve Madden to refund the amount they have collected from the infringement products till now.