Reebok, All Pumped Up With Patent, Sues L.A. Gear

Competition in the sneaker industry was pumped up this week as industry giant Reebok International filed suit to stop rival L.A. Gear from selling its line of inflatable shoes, which Reebok contends infringes on its newly issued patent.

After the U.S. Patent Office granted a patent Tuesday on a shoe-inflating pump and the method for filling part of the shoe with air, Reebok filed its suit in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. The suit asks that L.A. Gear stop selling its inflatable shoes and be required to pay Reebok for any shoes sold after the patent was issued.

A spokesman for L.A. Gear said the company had no comment on the lawsuit.

Reebok introduced the “Pump” in 1989, marketing it as an innovation in comfort because of the wearer’s ability to customize the shoe’s fit.

The company said it has sold 12.2 million pairs of the shoes. Reebok also has patent applications pending on other aspects of the “Pump” technology.

But industry analysts say the company may be defending a concept that’s not going anywhere.

“I don’t think the sports enthusiast has been convinced that they need that product to perform more successfully,” said Josie Esquivel, who monitors the industry for Lehman Bros. in New York.

Esquivel said the suit is “kind of silly” because L.A. Gear’s inflatable sneakers haven’t been selling well. The California company offers seven styles of the shoes under the name “Regulator.”

Reebok has licensed the same technology for use in other sporting equipment, including bicycle helmets, baseball gloves and hockey and roller-blade skates.