When Nike, the world’s largest athletic apparel and equipment maker, looked in the Mirror, it did not like what it saw. In this case, the Mirror being viewed belongs to the trendy New York-based home gym company of the same name that was acquired by Lululemon 18 months ago for $500 million as part of plan to diversify its reliance on selling $100 yoga pants to affluent women.
While that deal was lauded at the time as being savvy and on-trend for tapping into the booming connected fitness trend amid a pandemic, it has now landed the Canadian retailer in federal court — facing an angry $250 billion footwear giant five times its size that claims its tracking and motion sensing technologies are being used without permission.
See also: Why Lululemon’s $500M Mirror Deal Is A Muscular Move Into ‘Contextual Commerce’
On Wednesday (Jan. 5), a patent infringement complaint was filed with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan against Lululemon and Mirror. Nike alleged that several of its patents had been violated and asked the court for a jury trial, a court order to stop Lulu from further use of its tech, an admission of willful violation, triple damages as well as reimbursement for all of its legal fees, costs and expenses related to filing the suit.
“Nike has spent decades creating game-changing digital sport technologies,” the six-claim suit contends, before outlining its a lengthy product development history and its Nike+ joint ventures with Apple that has left it with 75 million active users of its digital ecosystem of products, apps and wearables.
Nike also said it had notified Lululemon in November of its infringement concerns prior to filing the lawsuit, but said the apparel retailer “refused to stop [selling, marketing and promoting the Mirror Home Gym] and instead summarily dismissed Nike’s claims.”
For its part, a Lululemon spokesperson said that “the patents in question are overly broad and invalid. We are confident in our position and look forward to defending it in court.”
Fighting Mad
Without judging the merits of Nike’s suit, the case clearly reflects the growing competition and profits that exist in the connected fitness category and a heightened sense concern over protecting their intellectual property.
In fact, Lululemon is already involved in a patent suit of its own, having alleged two months ago that embattled treadmill and stationary bike-maker Peloton’s new apparel offerings violated its patented line of leggings and sports bras.
While Peloton is defending itself in that matter, it too, has also spent the past year embroiled in a costly product liability recall battle in the wake of a death and several injuries caused by its treadmills.
As much as Peloton appears to have stabilized and most recently mounted a highly creative viral response that made light of what could have been a devastating fatal product placement in the revamped “Sex and the City” series, the fitness equipment company is still a fraction of its former self.
Read more: ‘And Just Like That’, Peloton Ups Its Brand Protection Game With Viral Chris Noth Ad
As of this week, shares of Peloton have fallen roughly 80% over the past year, and slimmed-down its market value by over $45 billion dollars from its pandemic-era peak to about $10 billion today.
If nothing else, this cycle of suits and changing fortunes within the fitness, athleisure and sports apparel industries stands as a reminder of the tens of billions of dollars in profits that are up for grabs each year — as well as the opportunity for innovation that exists for truly original ideas.
