Daily Life

Save
Print
License article

Bee sting: Wittner shoes agrees to stop selling 'copied' knot sneaker online

Australian shoe retailer Wittner is known for its high street interpretations of runway trends but has been stung for allegedly copying the design of an international fashion house.

Ports 1961, which has offices in Milan and New York, took action over Wittner's "Oporto" sneaker, which it argued bore a strong resemblance to its knotted sneakers.

As part of a settlement, Wittner, a family-run business based in Melbourne since 1912, agreed to pay Ports 1961's legal costs and immediately cease selling the sneakers online.

The shoe is still available in approximately 100 stores, including more than 25 concessions at David Jones.

Wittner also agreed to pay for a legal statement to appear in full in an Italian newspaper of Ports 1961's choosing.

A spokesman for Ports 1961 said the company would continue to fight "any forgery or imitation" of its sneakers, the design of which is registered under Italian law.

Advertisement

"We have been winning several actions on this issue," the spokesman said. "The last one was with Zara International. As evidence of the copy we have the registration of the design and several images of celebrities wearing them over the seasons."

Michael Wittner, chief executive of the company, said the company respected the intellectual property rights of designers.

"Imitation is not the Wittner formula," he said. "We have a proud creative design team ... who apply their craft to create the high quality shoes and accessories that the brand is known for."

He said the company was soon expanding to Canada and other international markets.

On its Facebook page last year, Wittner described its Oporto sneaker as "a comfort go-to".

The style is no longer featured on Wittner's website.

While fashion brands have been taking ideas from one another for decades if not centuries, the line where inspiration ends and plagiarism begins is blurry.

Intellectual property expert Matthew Rimmer, of Queensland University of Technology, said fashion was an "anomalous field in relation to intellectual property".

"Fashion is also an artform and industry that relies on trends, and copying and imitation. So there's a paradox."

Professor Rimmer said a recent decision by the US Supreme Court over cheerleading costumes could set a major precedent for fashion designers protecting their work.

He said the court had taken a much broader view of copyright protection than previously, which could have ramifications for future claims concerning fashion designs.

However, he cautioned against lawmakers applying too narrow restrictions on basic fashion shapes or garments.

"Certain functional shapes need to be left in the public domain – there are only so many ways you can go about designing a shoe," he said.