Crocs Sues Over a Shape It Never Designed

A $50 clog company just told a federal court that a $7 knockoff steals "significant investment" in a shape Crocs bought off a Canadian boat-shoe maker in 2002.

On September 18, Crocs and its subsidiary Jibbitz Charms filed suit against Five Below in federal court in Colorado, alleging trademark and patent infringement over Five Below's $7 “Juniors Charm Clog” — a dead ringer for Crocs' own $50–$75 adult clogs. Crocs says it flagged the infringement back in March and Five Below kept selling the things anyway. The filing calls it Five Below “clearly attempting to trade off the significant investment Crocs has made in its brand.”

Significant investment in what, exactly. In 2002, Crocs co-founder Scott Seamans was on a sailing trip through the Caribbean when he pulled a foam boat shoe out of his bag to show his buddies Lyndon Hanson and George Boedecker Jr. It wasn't his design. A small Canadian outfit called Foam Creations made it, out of a proprietary resin the trio would later rename Croslite and treat as their crown jewel. They licensed the shoe, slapped a strap on it, called it the Beach, and debuted it at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show that October. All 200 pairs sold out.

So the significant investment is the strap.