SKECHERS Secures Its 70th Patent Worldwide on Shape-ups Footwear
New U.S. Utility Patent Protects Kinetic Wedge Midsole Technology Designed to Tone Muscles and Provide Other Fitness Benefits
Patent Issued Days After Independent Review Board Finds SKECHERS' Key Fitness Claims Substantiated
MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SKECHERS USA, Inc. (NYSE:SKX), a global leader in footwear, today announced that it has secured its 70th patent worldwide protecting its Shape-ups footwear line. The most recent United States patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,779,557), issued on August 24, 2010, protects the Kinetic Wedge midsole technology, the part of Shape-ups which is the key to providing fitness benefits to consumers.
"We are proud to announce the most recent addition to our Shape-ups patents," said Leonard Armato, president of SKECHERS Fitness Division. "We have invested tremendous resources into developing this revolutionary footwear, and we go to great lengths to protect our retail partners and consumers from imitations and knockoffs. We are very aggressive in enforcing our patents throughout the world and routinely stop companies from infringing our rights."
The recent patent, addressing the novel portion of Shape-ups that is central to providing fitness benefits, was issued just days after an independent review board in New Zealand ruled that "the claims in the [Shape-ups] advertisement regarding muscle tone, posture and weight loss had been substantiated by [Skechers] . . . ." This was the second time in recent months that an independent panel made a favorable ruling relating to Shape-ups fitness claims. Earlier this year an independent review board in Australia said that Skechers provided a substantial amount of evidence in support of Shape-ups fitness claims and ruled that Skechers' competitors failed to provide any evidence to challenge Skechers' claims.
Armato continued, "While we are pleased by securing these patents and the independent rulings on the fitness claims, they simply reinforce what our own studies and thousands of unsolicited consumer testimonials have told us all along: Shape-ups is a unique footwear technology that provides wonderful fitness benefits to consumers. We will continue to invest in developing new toning technology and designs, and to protect and enforce our rights worldwide."
SKECHERS USA, Inc., based in Manhattan Beach, California, designs, develops and markets a diverse range of footwear for men, women and children under the SKECHERS name, as well as under several uniquely branded names. SKECHERS footwear is available in the United States via department and specialty stores, Company-owned SKECHERS retail stores and its e-commerce website, as well as in over 100 countries and territories through the Company's global network of distributors and subsidiaries in Canada, Brazil, Chile, and across Europe, as well as through joint ventures in Asia.
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or simply state future results, performance or achievements, and can be identified by the use of forward looking language such as "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "project," "will be," "will continue," "will result," "could," "may," "might," or any variations of such words with similar meanings. Any such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include international, national and local general economic, political and market conditions including the global economic slowdown and the ongoing financial crisis and market instability; entry into the highly competitive performance footwear market; sustaining, managing and forecasting costs and proper inventory levels; losing any significant customers, decreased demand by industry retailers and cancellation of order commitments due to the lack of popularity of particular designs and/or categories of products; maintaining brand image and intense competition among sellers of footwear for consumers; anticipating, identifying, interpreting or forecasting changes in fashion trends, consumer demand for the products and the various market factors described above; sales levels during the spring, back-to-school and holiday selling seasons; and other factors referenced or incorporated by reference in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2010. The risks included here are not exhaustive. The Company operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and the Company cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all such risk factors on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Moreover, reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance.
Source: SKECHERS USA, Inc.
Released Sep 13, 2010 • 9:00 am EDT