Shoe manufacturer New Balance has taken Decathlon to Massachusetts federal court, alleging that the French sporting goods company has violated its trademark “N” logo.

The suit claims that the backwards “K” on Decathlon’s Kiprun running shoes too
closely resembles New Balance’s own “N” and will confuse consumers.

Boston-based New Balance has used the “N” logo on its own footwear since the 1970s, the filing said, and that the mirrored “K” logo in use on Decathlon’s running shoe brand is “unmistakably an N”.

It cites social media posts noting the logo’s resemblance to New Balance’s “N”, and said the design would confuse potential customers.

Decathlon sells its Kiprun shoes to US customers online and through third-party brick and mortar retailers, the complaint states.

New Balance is seeking a court order blocking the infringement, as well as unspecified damages.

The company actively works to protect its trademark, having filed several similar suits this decade. In 2021, New Balance sued fashion retailer Michael Kors over two pairs of its shoes that were alleged to evoke the design of its best-selling 574 shoe model due to their use of a letter “N”. It added that Kors himself is known to be a fan of New Balance, increasing the chance of confusion.

It settled this claim, and one against apparel brand Nautica the year before, without publicly available terms.

In 2017, New Balance was able to secure a rare win for foreign companies in China after a court ordered three domestic shoemakers pay it more than $1.5 million in damages for copyright infringement. Although small by international standards, Reuters reported at the time that it was one of the largest payouts awarded to foreign companies in trademark disputes in China.

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