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Crocs lose their footing in the rubber shoe market

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Crocs lose their footing in the rubber shoe market

The future of comfortable and colorful Crocs footwear could be growing painful and dim after the company mired itself in the war against copycat rivals.

The company announced it is closing 160 of its retail stores and is facing a new blow from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which rejected the company’s argument for patent protection, according to an article in Sunday’s New York Post.

The government agency said the Boulder, Colorado, company’s design is not original and that a second company had applied for a similar design patent a year before Crocs Inc., the article stated.

The fight between Crocs and Las Vegas-based Dawgs USA Inc., one rival selling the shoes at a fraction of the price, dates back to 2006 and escalated this year when Dawgs accused its rival of corporate sabotage and of copying one of its own designs, a Z-strap sandal.

A Crocs spokesperson told Footwear News, which first reported the company’s demise, that it plans to appeal the patent office’s decision and will “continue to aggressively enforce its intellectual property portfolio against those who unfairly trade off of Crocs’ goodwill and reputation.”

The fight of the rubber shoe continues.

 

 

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