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Industry Scoop: Warrior Vs. Under Armour Lawsuit

Warrior is at it again. As devoted readers know from many of my past posts here, Warrior has sued many of its competitors for infringement of patents on its “protective sports gloves”. This time it’s Under Armour with the bulls-eye on its back.

Source: localwin.com via Sara on Pinterest

 

At the heart of it, Warrior is asserting Under Armour has infringed two U.S. patents that cover Warrior’s lacrosse/hockey gloves having floating cuff portions. Warrior has previously sued Maverik, Reebok and Tribe 7 as having infringed these (and additional) patents covering their floating cuff gloves. According to Warrior’s most recent Complaint, filed September 5, 2012 in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan, Under Armour’s allegedly infringing gloves include, but are not limited to, the Under Armour Player glove.

As is the case with most patent infringement Complaints, very little specifics are provided as to the elements of Warrior’s patent claims asserted to be infringed. Over the past few years that I have been covering these types of patent cases for LAS, I have yet to see any case reach trial. Usually, the parties will get together and reach a settlement that may or may not involve a license agreement. Unfortunately for those of us interested in this stuff, the terms of the settlement are typically confidential and the lawsuit is eventually dismissed.

While many people may shake their head and clamor over how litigious the world is, it is important to understand that a great deal of time and money goes into the research and development that leads to the innovations and unique aspects of the awesome lacrosse equipment we all know and love. I always applaud innovators who are aggressive in protecting their valuable intellectual property.

At the same time, one always has to give props to the defendant in these cases who, if they have the evidence and support, can make a great case in fighting the infringement charges made against them. I’ll keep you all posted when I learn of further details connected with this case.