Ralph Lauren ordered to destroy Converse 'copy-cats'

Last October saw footwear label Converse file 32 lawsuits against 32 companies for trademark infringement, including firms such as Skechers, Fila, Ed Hardy and Ralph Lauren. The brand, owned by Nike, accused the companies of copying the design of its famous Converse Chuck Taylor All Star trainer, in particular imitating the shoe's stripe, toe-bumper and toe-cap model.

Now months later, Converse has entered into a settlement agreement with Ralph Lauren. The footwear label has filed a joint motion to end the case, which was set to be reviewed by the US International Trade Commission (ITC), according to court documents. According to the details of the agreement as seen by WWD, Ralph Lauren has agreed to destroy all items that were named in the lawsuit filed by Converse.

The internal investigation carried out by the ITC found that a total of 36 shoes models from Ralph Lauren infringed on Converse's trademarks, including styles with washed canvas and bleached denim. Ralph Lauren has up to 30 days after signing the agreement to remove all offending footwear, as well as destroying all the shoes componential parts, including shoe molds, promotional advertisements and shoe packaging.

Ralph Lauren has also agreed to pay a monetary sum to Converse; however the amount to be paid was not disclosed in the public statement of the settlement agreement. Nevertheless Converse stresses that its main priority remains halting the production and sale of copy-cat sneakers.

Images: from Daily Mail