06 Jan Crocs Sues Evacol for Patent Infringement
Crocs Inc. has filed a lawsuit against a Colombian retailer that opened its first store in Plantation, claiming patent infringement and asking Evacol to stop selling the lightweight shoes that look like Crocs.
Evacol, founded in 2006, has more than 60 stores in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Evacol entered the U.S. market in 2010 on a wholesale basis and opened its first retail store in Plantation, FL in November.
“It has recently come to our attention that Evacol has been infringing certain intellectual property rights of Crocs and is attempting to unfairly trade off of Crocs’ brand equity,” Andrew Rees, Crocs’ brand president, said in a statement. “Crocs will not tolerate these acts.”
The lawsuit in district court in Southern Florida on Dec. 23 seeks to stop the Colombian-based firm from manufacturing, using, marketing, distributing, importing, selling and offering to sell footwear that infringe upon Crocs’ patents. The suit also seeks monetary damages “in an amount to be proved at trial.”