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Update:
- A federal judge in Massachusetts denied Nike’s request to dismiss claims it infringed on eight patents from SherryWear.
- The motion to dismiss claimed SherryWear was wrong in its claims but did not supply reasons for the case to be dismissed under normal standards, a Dec. 7 order says.
- U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin writes that Nike supplied images of chest straps but did not make it clear how the chest strap applied to the rest of the sports bra and only showed the front of the strap.
- Judge Sorokin determined it was plausible Nike put items in the pockets of its apparel during development, a potential violation of the patented SherryWear method.
Nike sports bra lawsuit overview:
- Who: SherryWear LLC filed a lawsuit against Nike Inc.
- Why: Sherrywear claims Nike infringed on patents filed by its founder Sherry Goff with its “Swoosh On The Run” pocket bra apparel.
- Where: The lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts federal court.
(July 21, 2023)
Nike is committing patent infringement with its Swoosh On the Run pocketed bra apparel that the company introduced last year, a new lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Sherry Goff, founder of SherryWear, claims she submitted patents and photographs of a pocket bra she designed on multiple occasions to Nike, only for the athletic apparel company to ultimately tell her it wasn’t interested.
Goff argues that Nike, despite telling her it was not interested in her submission, began “making, using, offering to sell, selling, and importing products that infringe certain claims of the Pocket Bra Patents.”
“While NIKE claims to have had no interest in SherryWear’s products, in September 2017, NIKE hired clothing designer, Nicole Rendone, to develop women’s pocket bras,” the Nike lawsuit states.
Plaintiff made Nike aware multiple times it was infringing on SherryWear patents, lawsuit says
Goff claims she spent “considerable time and money” to develop the patents for her SherryWear pocket bras, and filed her first patent application in April 2011, with her first two patents granted by early 2015.
Nike, meanwhile, began making, using, offering to sell, selling and importing its Swoosh On the Run pocketed bras at least as early as January 2019, infringing on certain claims of the SherryWear patents, the Nike lawsuit alleges.
Goff argues she then made Nike aware on multiple occasions that its “making, using, offering for sale, selling, and importing” bras with the characteristics of the Swoosh On the Run “would infringe” on her patents.
“NIKE has never had authority to use, offer, sell, or import any product or assembly covered by the Pocket Bra Patents or actively induce others to do so,” the Nike lawsuit states.
Goff is demanding a jury trial and requesting injunctive relief along with an award of monetary damages “resulting from NIKE’s past and ongoing infringement of the Pocket Bra Patents.”
Nike sought the dismissal of a separate complaint earlier this month that accused the company of falsely advertising that its Sustainability Collection product line was made with recyclable materials.
Has a company ever infringed on a patent you owned? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Jameson J. Pasek and James T. Murphy of Caldwell IP Law LLC.
The Nike sports bra lawsuit is SherryWear LLC v. Nike Inc., Case No. 4:21-cv-06770, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
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