Adidas is suing Nike for technology infringement

Adidas has filed a legal complaint against Nike Inc in a Texan court citing it “knowingly and intentionally” infringed on nine patents related to adidas’ proprietary athletic technology.

Adidas claims to have released the first ‘smart’ shoe back in 2004, two decades after it introduced the world’s first shoe with an integrated computer: the adidas Micropacer originally released in 1984 to coincide with the Olympic games in Los Angeles. In its filing adidas said it also launched the first "fully integrated training system combining sensors in shoes and wearable devices" in 2005, and personal training apps in 2008 called miCoach for use on mobile phones.

Adidas cites Nike’s use of apps for its Run Club, the Nike Training Club the Nike SNKRS app as infringing its technologies, such as exercise monitoring and its "intelligent footwear" system. According to adidas, it was the first sportswear company to comprehensively bring data analytics to athletes.

In a tit for tat of athletic giants caught in litigation, Nike in December filed a complaint citing Adidas for infringing its Flyknit patents with the release of its Primeknit sneakers.