Puma is going after Brooks for his use of the word “Nitro” and for allegedly infringing the design patent on one of his shoes.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Puma accused Brooks of trademark infringement, patent infringement and unfair competition.
Specifically, Puma indicates in the filing that it owns the rights to the trademark “Nitro” which it uses on and in connection with certain footwear. As such, the German sports brand took issue with Brooks’ use of the word “Nitro” to advertise its running shoes on its website, in person and via social media.
“Brooks’ use of the NITRO trademark without permission is, and has been, a deliberate attempt to commercialize the valuable trademark rights, goodwill and consumer confidence established by Puma in its Nitro trademark,” reads the statement. the complaint.
Puma has also accused the running shoe brand of infringing on a patent for one of its shoe designs. Puma says Brooks’ Aurora BL sneaker, which includes the words “Nitrogen-Injected” on the heel, is “essentially the same in the eyes of the ordinary observer” as a patent filed in 2020 to protect Puma’s sneakers .
In a statement, Brooks called the allegations “baseless.”
“Puma is abusing trademark law by seeking to prevent competitors from using the term ‘nitro’ to describe nitro-infused footwear,” Brooks said in a statement. “Brooks is not infringing any intellectual property of Puma, and all of Puma’s allegations are without merit.”
Puma declined to comment.
This is not the first legal spat for Puma. In-N-Out Burger slapped Puma North America Inc. with a trademark lawsuit in 2019, alleging the sportswear giant was using its federally registered designs without permission. In 2018, Nike filed a lawsuit against Puma for alleged patent infringement related to the unauthorized use of its Flyknit, Air and cleat assembly technologies.
