Skechers accused of stealing design behind its bestselling shoe line | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Founded in 1992, Skechers has grown to become the third-largest footwear company in the world, with around 5,300 stores nationwide and a diverse lineup of shoe categories.

Skechers launched its Hands Free Slip-ins shoe line in 2023, quickly becoming its most popular product line and a key driver of its recent growth. However, its best-selling product is now at risk amid a high-stakes legal battle.

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Skechers is facing a patent infringement lawsuit filed by HandsFree Labs, Kizik’s Parent company, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

The lawsuit alleges Skechers knowingly and willfully violated multiple patents with its popular Hands Free Slip-ins shoes.

Skechers is accused of copying four utility patents and two design patents that protect HandsFree Labs’ hands-free footwear technologies. HandsFree Labs claims it developed and protected these technologies long before Skechers entered the category.

HandsFree Labs has sued Skechers for patent infringement.

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Skechers sued by HandsFree Labs over alleged patent infringement

Established in 2017, HandsFree Labs has over 200 issued and pending patents, some dating back more than 15 years, covering its portfolio of hands-free footwear systems, including Cage, Flex Arc, and Squeeze It technologies.

These technologies allow people to slip their feet into shoes easily without using their hands or tying their shoelaces.

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“This isn’t just a product Skechers copied, it’s a category we created,” said HandsFree Labs CEO Gareth Hosford in a press release. “From the start, our mission was clear — to revolutionize how people put on their shoes. We believed this everyday task could be easier, faster, and more convenient. We poured our energy into developing the technology to solve a real-world problem and make hands-free shoes a reality. We’re now forced to defend that work against a company that chose to imitate rather than innovate.”

HandsFree Labs has licensed its technologies to major brands like Nike and other renowned shoe makers. If it wins the case, it would be credited as the source for Skechers’ products.

If Skechers loses this legal battle, it wouldn’t just damage its annual revenue and brand reputation. It also comes at a time when the company faces significant tariffs, as 40% of the shoes it sells to its U.S. market are manufactured in China.

Skechers’ Hands Free Slip-ins drive growth for the company

Skechers (SKX) Slip-in shoes represent a significant portion of its U.S. online inventory, making up one-third of its product offerings on its official website.

The company has repeatedly highlighted the success of this category in recent earnings calls, stating that it is its best-performing and resonates well with consumers. This has helped it boost sales and consumer engagement.

For the full year of 2024, Skechers reported $8.79 billion in sales, representing a 12.1% year-over-year increase.

However, HandsFree Labs claims this rapid growth has been fueled by unauthorized use of its proprietary innovations.

“The real danger here isn’t just to our company, it’s to innovation itself,” said Hosford. “When billion-dollar brands can openly copy protected technologies and profit from doing so with no consequences, it sends a dangerous message to every entrepreneur, engineer, and inventor: Your work doesn’t matter. We can’t accept that. And we won’t.”

With this lawsuit, HandsFree Labs demands a trial by jury on all issues and seeks to be awarded restitution from Skechers for its attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses of actions, as well as other relief as deemed proper by the court.