Lululemon Athletica is suing Under Armour under claims of patent and trademark infringement, for allegedly copying a sports bra design. The “$52 Energy Bra – which has four straps that crisscross in the back – does it all,” according to Lululemon. Four of Under Armour’s sports bras, including “Under Armour’s Armour Eclipse Low Impact”, “Armour Shape Low Impact,” “Under Armour On the Move”, and “Under Armour Printed Scrappy Bra” sports bras, ranging from 20 to 40 dollars, are at issue.
Trademark suits can be quite complex for either side and Heitner Legal can help navigate you through that complexity. Heitner Legal has a great deal of experience when it comes to trademark lawsuits, having represented both Defendants who were being sued for trademark infringement, and having represented Plaintiffs who were suing someone else for the same, as well as transactional trademark work.
For Lululemon to succeed on trademark infringement, Lululemon will need to show that there is a likelihood of consumer confusion as a result of Under Armour’s use.
Lululemon claims the similarities “may cause irreparable damage” to its reputation. Lululemon also added that the infringement in dispute was conducted knowingly, willfully, and in bad faith, and with knowledge of Lululemon’s rights, and marketed to the identical group of consumers as Lululemon via the same channels of trade.”
Moving to the other side, Under Armour’s strongest defense may be the fact that there is not a strong likelihood of consumer confusion, as a result of their own use of the design because of the Under Armour Logo being printed on the back. With the well-known Under Armour logo right on the sports bra, how are customers likely to confuse the designs?