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Walmart Vans Shoes Copycat Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Shoe company Vans is suing Walmart, saying the retailer is selling “copycat” versions of its shoes.
- Why: Vans says its designs are being infringed upon and wants a judge to block Walmart from selling them. But Walmart says it will lose tens of millions of dollars if it can’t sell them.
- Where: California federal court.
Shoe brand Vans has told a judge it is facing an “existential crisis” due to Walmart making cheap knockoffs of its “entire product line, in virtually every color.”
At a Feb. 28 hearing in California federal court, Vans told U.S. District Judge David O. Carter that Walmart’s line of poorly-made “dupes” of Vans designs were hurting its bottom line and putting it in “mortal peril,” Law360 reports.
Vans’ counsel Lucy Jewett Wheatley of McGuireWoods LLP urged Judge Carter to issue a preliminary injunction that would force Walmart to pull the copycat shoes from its shelves.
Wheatley told the judge Vans had worked for decades to establish its brand of skate shoes, and that Walmart was confusing consumers with its knockoff line.
She pointed to a social media post from one of Walmart’s accounts advertising the copies with the hashtag “VansDupes.”
“Walmart is flooding the market with these shoes, and people are confused,” Wheatley said.
“Vans carefully controls distribution in order to avoid its shoes losing their cool, losing their distinctiveness. And Walmart’s sales strategy destroys that, which is the core of the brand that Vans has been building for decades.”
In the November complaint in the Vans-Walmart lawsuit, Vans said Walmart flooded the market with knockoffs that use designs Vans has spent millions developing and marketing with high-profile athletes and celebrities.
It claims Walmart started ripping off the designs in 2018, which it only discovered in March 2021, and immediately sent a cease-and-desist letter. It says, since then, Walmart has only added more knockoffs to its roster.
Vans’ suit includes claims of trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin.
On Jan. 24, Walmart Inc. urged a judge to deny Vans’ request for a preliminary injunction, saying taking the shoes off its shelves would cost it “tens of millions of dollars.”
What do you think of Vans’ lawsuit against Walmart? Let us know in the comments!
Vans is represented by Tanya L. Greene, Nicholas J. Hoffman and Lucy Jewett Wheatley of McGuireWoods LLP.
The Walmart Vans Knockoff Shoes Lawsuit is Vans Inc. et al. v. Walmart Inc. et al., Case no. 8:21-cv-01876, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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169 thoughts onVans Shoe Company in ‘Crisis’ Thanks to Walmart Knockoffs, Lawsuit Alleges
I am 56 yrs old and I have worn vans almost my entire life (since 12). I have so many pairs in all different styles & colors. Ill never get tired of wearing them or matching them to my outfits. Wal-Mart needs to stop with their cheap fakes, admit what they did was wrong on every level & apologize then pay Vans millions for being the the losers they are. Nothing could ever come close to replacing vans ….always the best & I’ll will wear them til the day i die.