Lululemon Files Patent Suit against Calvin Klein

While patents have been noted as being very difficult to obtain in apparel and fashion, they have been a hot topic this summer with sporting companies. Lululemon Athletica is the second company to file a patent suit, accusing Calvin Klein of infringing three design patents for yoga pants. The patents include U.S. Patent Nos. D645,644, D661,872, and D662,281.

In the complaint, Lululemon claimed that certain Calvin Klein bottoms marketed under the “Performance” brand infringe the ‘644 Patent, the ‘872 Patent, and the ‘281 Patent. Plaintiff also identified the accused products as Style No. 11516241, "performance knee length running tights," and Style No. 11516196, “performance compression overlapping waistband pants” that were being sold on the company's website (shown above). Since the suit has been filed, the accused products have been removed from the Calvin Klein website. Our guess would be Calvin Klein is going to either challenge the validity of the patents or settle the case. Since patents are such a novelty in fashion law, we here at The Fashion Grid will be sure to follow up on the progress of this case.