Peloton is Suing Lululemon in Clash About the Parties’ “Lookalike” Apparel

A guiding the scenes scuffle between Lululemon and Peloton has spilled around into federal courtroom, with the exercising bicycle -maker arguing that Lululemon not too long ago threatened it with litigation more than its “similarly striking” garments. According to the declaratory judgment motion that it submitted with the U.S. District Courtroom for the Southern District of New York on November 24, Peloton statements that just more than two months right after it launched an activewear collection of its very own and terminated its 5-year apparel partnership with Lululemon, the Vancouver-based athleticwear company has alleged that a handful of Peloton’s private label goods infringe its style patents, and that a pair of Peloton-branded leggings infringes its trade dress rights. 

Placing the stage in its grievance, Peloton asserts that “in addition to currently being the world’s main interactive health and fitness platform, [it] has its very own private label apparel brand, Peloton Apparel.” Though the New York-based mostly firm statements that it 1st started advertising apparel from other brand names to its workout equipment users in 2014, “in reaction to member need, it formally introduced its private label line in September 2021.”

In advance of launching its own in-dwelling assortment, Peloton statements that it finished its present partnership with Lululemon. “At the time, the termination of the Peloton-Lululemon co-branding relationship” – which saw Peloton offer a variety of Lululemon attire products and solutions co-branded with its individual identify/emblem – “was amicable,” Peloton asserts, noting that Lululemon “did not item in any way to Peloton’s termination final decision or Peloton’s providing of its personal lively use attire.” 

That changed before this thirty day period, however, in accordance Peloton, as it states that it acquired a cease-and-desist letter from Lululemon on November 11, in which Lululemon alleged that 5 of Peloton’s branded and private label activewear clothing items – specifically, Peloton’s Strappy Bra, Significant Neck Bra, Cadent Peak Bra, and Cadent Laser Dot Bra – infringe its structure patents, and that another a single of the Peloton-branded activewear apparel products – the Cadent Laser Dot Leggings – infringe its trade costume rights. 

In the November 11 cease-and-desist letter, Peloton promises that counsel for Lululemon stated that unless of course Peloton stop marketing the allegedly infringing products and solutions, it would file an infringement lawsuit. 

As a substitute of complying with Lululemon’s requires, Peloton filed a declaratory judgment motion, inquiring a court to settle the make any difference by way of a declaration that: “(1) Peloton has not infringed, and does not infringe on the asserted Lululemon patents (2) the asserted Lululemon patents are invalid and/or (3) Peloton has not infringed, and does not infringe, on any purported Lululemon trade costume rights.” (When a get together is threatened with a design and style patent infringement lawsuit (or yet another type of infringement accommodate), it may possibly preemptively sue the rights holder, Lululemon in this scenario, in a declaratory judgment action and seek out to have the allegedly infringed layout patent declared invalid or not infringed.)

Peloton’s Patent Pushback

Very first addressing Lululemon’s patent infringement claims, Peloton argues that the company’s allegations “lack any merit,” as “even a fast comparison of the Lululemon patented designs with the allegedly infringing Peloton goods reveals quite a few obvious and clear distinctions that allow the solutions to be effortlessly distinguished.” Beyond that, even if the products and solutions are sufficiently very similar, Peloton asserts that Lululemon’s “claimed structure patents are invalid mainly because, at a minimal, they are expected and/or noticeable and, hence, simply cannot be infringed upon.”

It is worthy of specifying below that Lululemon is professing design and style patent rights – i.e., rights that protect the total visual visual appearance of an post of manufacture, including the coloration and form of a solution or a combination thereof – in the certain “ornamental design” of its clothing merchandise. In this article that takes the type of the layout things of different sports activities bras and a pair of leggings. Fundamentally, it is arguing protection in the way individuals items glance, as distinctive from the way they operate, the latter of which falls in the realm of utility patents. 

Pushing back in opposition to Lululemon’s infringement claims, Peloton sheds light-weight on some of the limits of layout patents, primarily, that security exists only for new patterns, or extra specially, novel and non-noticeable kinds. Here, Peloton promises that many prior artwork – including beforehand-introduced styles from Sweaty Betty, between other companies – helps make it so that the sports activities bra and leggings design aspects had been by now “anticipated or would have been obvious” at the time that Lululemon submitted its patent programs. As these kinds of, Peloton claims that has pointed out infringed Lululemon’s sports bra patents and that Lululemon’s patents are invalid due to a deficiency of novelty and/or non-obviousness, and consequently, “cannot be infringed on.”

Aside from taking difficulty with the validity of the patents that Lululemon relies on to make its threatened situation, Peloton asserts that the court docket should really situation a declaration in its favor due to the fact there are “clear and obvious differences” among its sportswear garments and Lululemon’s patented styles. 

Citing some of the “key differences” involving its Cadent Laser Dot bra and the decorative layout at the centre of Lululemon’s D836,291 patent, Peloton argues that the ’291 patent “claims a translucent, clear, or see-as a result of mesh or cloth, whereas the dotted pattern on [its] Cadent Laser Dot Bra is a sample lower into the material of the bra by itself.” Also, “The shape of the insert claimed in the ’291 patent is also different from that of [its] products,” for each Peloton, as the ’291 patent “shows a triangle with two rounded sides,” while its “unique dotted pattern is far more related to a Christmas tree form.” 

These differences, amid other individuals, are sizeable, as the profitable enforcement of a design patent requires that an “ordinary observer” – with understanding of the prior art and “giving these types of consideration as a purchaser normally gives” – would obtain the accused products and the patented design to seem to be “substantially the exact same.” 

(Due to the fact the Federal Circuit made the decision the Egyptian Goddess, Inc. v. Swisa, Inc. case in 2008, the sole exam for pinpointing no matter if a design patent has been infringed is the regular observer exam. The caveat listed here is that only non-purposeful aspects and ornamental facets of functional components can be regarded as portion of the “ordinary observer” analysis, and hence, if the discrepancies amongst these points of novelty and the accused layout “are this sort of that the total design of the patented and accused product or service are not substantially the exact, a acquiring of infringement is inappropriate.”)

Even though Peloton does not make features statements in its criticism, it does argue that “clear differences” involving its products and those people depicted in Lululemon’s patents stand in the way of an ordinary observer finding that the respective models are similar adequate to amount of money to infringement. 

On the Trademark Front

In its criticism, Peloton also shoots down Lululemon’s trademark assert, asserting that its rival fails when it will come to probability of confusion, which is the significant factor for figuring out infringement in a trademark context. In addition to “numerous crystal clear and apparent differences in style and design,” confusion among the two companies’ products is “a virtual impossibility,” it argues, as “[its] and Lululemon’s brand names and logos are also distinct and properly-recognized” – and obviously depicted on the companies’ respective goods. 

At problem is Lululemon’s Align trade dress, which it claims that Peloton has infringed by selling the Peloton A single Luxe Tights. On this entrance, Peloton requires situation with the Align trade dress, by itself, arguing that Lululemon lacks legal rights in the configuration, as “the characteristics of the Align pant are ornamental and fall short to purpose as a resource identifier.” In case they are not decorative, Peloton statements that Lululemon nevertheless does not keep rights in the design and style of the Align pants, as the factors that it is composed of “(i) are not distinct this sort of that they may possibly operate as a source identifier, and (ii) have not acquired distinctiveness and/or secondary which means so that they could functionality as a source identifier.”

(The acquired distinctiveness part is critical, as the Supreme Court formerly proven that a product design can never be inherently distinctive. As such, in order for merchandise style and design trade costume to be protectable, the purported trade gown holder need to build that it has acquired secondary which means.)

And still yet, Peloton asserts that even if Lululemon’s purported Align trade costume was protectable, its A person Luxe leggings do not infringe that trade costume mainly because individuals are not probable to be perplexed, as its branding appears on its leggings and the similar is legitimate for Lululemon.  

With the foregoing in thoughts, Peloton is searching for a declaration from the court that it has not infringed Lululemon’s design and style patents or its trade dress, as perfectly as declarations that the patents and trade gown are in legitimate and unenforceable. Peloton is also searching for fair attorneys’ fees and fees, and “any other aid the Courtroom could contemplate equitable, just, and suitable.”

The risk of litigation from Lululemon that prompted Peloton to file go well with is not with out a heritage. The activewear clothes has been embroiled in a quantity of large-profile design patent infringement lawsuits over the previous ten years or so, which include with Calvin Klein, Inc., Hanesbrands, and Under Armour, in which comparable defensive “obviousness” arguments have been designed in link with Lululemon’s arsenal of design patents. “What Lululemon is performing here is staking its turf,” Jeremy de Beer, a legislation professor at the University of Ottawa, claimed back again in 2017 when Lululemon named Under Armour in a since-settled go well with for design patent infringement. “The organization method is to deter other folks from even making an attempt to copy styles, due to the fact it is heading to lead to them authorized complications.” The very same approach would seem to nevertheless use.

In a assertion on Friday, a representative for Lululemon reported in link with the recently-filed circumstance, “At Lululemon we are acknowledged for our item innovation and legendary design and style. We will protect our proprietary legal rights to secure the integrity of our manufacturer and to safeguard our mental property.”

The case is Peloton Interactive, Inc. v. Lululemon Athletica Canada Inc., 1:21-cv-10071 (SDNY).