Splicetoday

Pop Culture
May 16, 2008, 12:31PM

Payless Shoes Caught Ripping Off Adidas

Splice's favorite discount shoe emporium got nailed the other day to the tune of $305 million. See, Adidas wasn't too happy with some of their style choices, and took them to court over their use of stripes. Perhaps they should be called Paymore shoes? Ha, we're funny.

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Note the use of four stripes, not three.

"A federal jury in Portland late Monday ordered Payless Shoesource Inc. to pay $304.6 million for willfully infringing on Adidas America Inc.'s three-stripe trademark logo.

Topeka, Kansas-based Collective Brands Inc., which operates Payless and Stride Rite shoe store chains, called the award "excessive and unjustified" on Tuesday. It said it plans to ask the court to set the verdict aside. If that request is not granted, the company said in a statement, Collective "intends to take all necessary steps to overturn it."

Michael M. Ratoza, an attorney with Bullivant Houser Bailey and an adjunct professor at the University of Oregon Law School, said the verdict could have a big impact on retail stores that sell discount products that look like well-known items.

"Not just discount retailers, but even more sophisticated stores. Really, any retailer has to be very cautious about the source of their products."

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