ROTHY'S OBTAINS FEDERAL COURT CONSENT JUDGMENT AND PERMANENT INJUNCTION IN LAWSUIT AGAINST BIRDIES, VALIDATING ROTHY'S DESIGN PATENTS

Rothy's continues to successfully enforce its intellectual property

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rothy's, Inc., the innovative sustainable lifestyle brand, today announced that a federal court in the Northern District of California has entered a Consent Judgment in Rothy's patent infringement lawsuit against Birdies, Inc., permanently enjoining and restraining Birdies from selling its infringing knit Blackbird shoes as shown in Exhibit A of the Consent Judgment ("Knit Blackbird") and any other products that infringe Rothy's design patents asserted in the litigation.

Under the Consent Judgment, Birdies acknowledges the validity of the design patents Rothy's asserted and that Birdies' Knit Blackbird infringes one or more of Rothy's patents. Rothy's filed its Complaint against Birdies on April 5, 2021, asserting Birdies' Knit Blackbird infringes Rothy's U.S. Design Patents Nos. D885,016, D885,017, D909,718, D870,425, and D925,874. The Consent Judgment comes after Rothy's successfully opposed Birdies' Motion for Summary Judgment in May 2022 (Civil Action No. 3:21-cv-02438-VC, Dkt. 191). The Court entered the Consent Judgment on August 25, 2022 (Civil Action No. 3:21-cv-02438-VC, Dkt. 204).

"With over 200 design patents granted or pending, we care deeply about protecting the intellectual property Rothy's works so hard to create," said Marie Satterfield, Chief Legal Officer at Rothy's. "This court order underscores the strength and staying power of Rothy's robust IP portfolio. We will continue to vigorously enforce Rothy's rights and hold accountable those who infringe our designs."

The Consent Judgment comes on the heels of other recent successful enforcements of Rothy's intellectual property portfolio. In January 2021, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) in the United Kingdom ruled that Austrian shoe manufacturer Giesswein's "Pointy Flat" shoe infringed Rothy's registered "The Pointed Loafer" Community Design (Claim No. IP-2019-000084) and ordered Giesswein to cease all sales of the infringing shoes. In September 2019, Rothy's resolved a patent and trade dress infringement lawsuit against OESH Shoes. The Court in the Western District of Virginia entered a Consent Decree (Civil Action No. 3:18-cv-00067, Dkt. 79) enjoining OESH from manufacturing, marketing, and selling the accused shoes and whereby OESH acknowledged the validity of Rothy's "The Flat" trade dress and asserted design patents.

Rothy's takes a whole brand approach to sustainability in manufacturing, transforming recycled materials into beautiful shoes, handbags and accessories. With a vertically integrated supply chain, Rothy's minimizes waste by knitting each product to shape in its wholly owned factory in Dongguan, China. Since launching in 2016, Rothy's has transformed over 125 million single-use plastic bottles and kept 400,000 pounds of marine plastic out of waterways.

With over two million customers, Rothy's products are sold directly online and through Rothy's thirteen retail stores. Rothy's has been recognized for awards including TIME Most Influential Companies, Fast Company Most Innovative Companies, Forbes Next Billion-Dollar Startups, and Inc. Best Places to work.  Headquartered in San Francisco, California with offices in New York, New York and Shanghai, China.

Further information is available at rothys.com. Follow Rothy's on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @rothys.

Contacts
Anna Doré
Rothy's Senior Director of Communications
[email protected] // (515) 669-9354

Rothy's is represented in the Birdies' case by the law firm of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP:
Steve Moore
Partner
[email protected] // 415.273.4741

SOURCE Rothy's