Nike and Adidas have settled a lawsuit over their respective knit footwear technology. In a lawsuit filed in December, Nike accused Adidas of making unauthorized use of its “game-changing” and patent-protected Flyknit technology. According to The Fashion Law, the two parties have now informed the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon that they’ve reached a private settlement in which they each cover their own attorney fees and costs.
It’s a well-known fact that Nike isn’t afraid to take anyone to court: In the last year alone, the sportswear company has sued small-time customizers, designer John Geiger, and reselling platform StockX — all in the interest of protecting its intellectual property. And when it comes to the brand’s Flyknit, a feature it spent more than a decade and upwards of $100 million dollars researching and developing, Nike is fiercely defensive. The brand alleged that Adidas challenged its patents associated with its Flyknit technology for “much of the past decade,” writes TFL, alleging the German brand continued to use Nike’s patented technology without permission through Adidas’s Primeknit.
