Dr Martens wins trademark legal action

AirWair has won a court battle over infringements of its intellectual property.

A Californian court has found in favour of footwear producer AirWair International in a case regarding infringements of its Dr Martens brand trademarks. In a unanimous verdict, a jury found that four styles that were being sold by a competitor had breached Dr Martens’ intellectual property rights.

Design elements that AirWair International objected to included yellow stitching, grooved sole edges and heel-pull tabs. Although the defence team claimed that such characteristics should be termed ‘functional’ or ‘generic’ components, the jury considering the case disagreed. “We had a choice between watching our brand, our shoemaking skills and our 60-year rebellious heritage destroyed by badly-made, glued copies, or we could fight for our brand,” stated chief executive, Kenny Wilson.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 3 of the October 2021 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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