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LEGO-Inspired Shoemakers Will Battle It Out in Court

By Bruce Carton

Paging the Likelihood of Confusion blog ... You might think that one "horrific" dress show inspired by LEGOs would be all we need, but that's why you're in the legal field and not in the fashion industry. Turns out at least one designer -- Steve Madden -- thinks that we need at least two such shoes in this world, but another designer -- Balenciaga -- disagrees strongly. Cityfile reports that in the Fall of 2007, Balenciaga's introduced its "Closed Front Cage Sandals With Ankle Pads," a.k.a. "LEGO Shoes." The Balenciaga LEGO Shoes cost $4,175, and supposedly "graced" the feet of entertainers such as Beyoncé. Cityfile writes that last year, however, Steve Madden introduced its own "horrific Multi-Color Bukled Heel," which looks a good bit like the Balenciaga show but costs just $99.95. Take a look at the two shoes side-by-side, via Cityfile: Last week, Balenciaga filed a lawsuit alleging that Steve Madden "engaged in copyright infringement, trademark infringement, counterfeiting and other wrongful and tortious conduct" related to its LEGO shoes. I'm no copyright expert but I will confidently predict that these shoes will cause a lot more confusion than these rubber shoes and sportscar that are the subject of similar...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on December 21, 2009 (boomark / email).