FILA USA responds to Vibram Release on Lawsuit, release from FILA USA, note by Larry Eder

FILA USA responded today to the piece I posted on the Vibram lawsuit over the articulated toes of a FILA USA shoe called Skeletoes. The folks at FILA USA have a different opinion and have expressed it below.. It is nice to see people actually reading and responding to RBR. So, read on, gentle readers:

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Fila
USA, Inc. announced today that the company will vigorously defend
itself against the complaint filed on July 6, 2011 by Vibram S.p.A. and
Vibram USA Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of
Massachusetts alleging that Fila USA Inc.’s Skele-toesâ„¢ line of footwear
infringes three patents. Fila has reviewed the allegations in Vibram’s
complaint and has determined that they are without merit. Prior
to developing and releasing this line of footwear in February 2011,
Fila determined that the Skele-Toes shoes did not infringe any existing
patents including those owned by Vibram. Though Vibram is generally
credited with launching the minimalist trend in the footwear industry,
Fila Skele-Toes joins a long history of shoes with articulated toes
and represents a more accessible approach to this rapidly
expanding minimalist footwear category.

https://www.runblogrun.com/2011/07/the-minimalist-shoe-wars-vibram-sues-fila-over-trademark-infringment-release-note-by-larry-eder.html

Author

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.

Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

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