Skechers Sues L.A. Gear Over Patents

Skechers U.S.A. Inc., a maker of platform and other trendy shoes, claims in a lawsuit that L.A. Gear used its design for Sport Energy and other sneakers for a competing line of less expensive footwear.

Manhattan Beach-based Skechers said it has patents for the athletic sneaker, popularized with ads featuring pop singer Britney Spears, as well as Sport Noogies and Sport Gators shoes. It claims L.A. Gear is using Skechers’ logo and likeness to confuse shoppers.

Skechers is seeking a court order barring the sale of the shoes, sold under brand names such as Kiana, and at least $10million in damages from L.A. Gear, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 1998.

L.A. Gear was the third-largest branded athletic shoemaker in the late 1980s before it suffered a string of annual losses and filed for Chapter 11 protection in 1998. The firm, which is controlled by PCH Investments, now licenses products and no longer manufactures shoes.

A call to Los Angeles-based L.A. Gear was not returned.

Skechers shares rose 14 cents to $15.71.