Noni B, Rivers in trademark spat over Crocs shoes

Love them or hate them, a unique shoe is at the centre of a trademark war between a US footwear giant and an Aussie retailer.

US footwear giant Crocs is suing the owner of Australian retailers Noni-B and Rivers, claiming it has stolen the look and name of its famed clogs.

Crocs Inc is suing Mosaic Brands in the Federal Court, alleging it sold shoes “substantially identical” or “deceptively similar” to Crocs’ shape trademark.

Crocs also claims Mosaic promoted the shoes using the word “crocs”, which is almost identical to its Crocs word trademark.

US-based Crocs Inc owns the trademark over the shape of its shoes and the word “Croc”.

It licences its global trademarks over its shoes to Crocs Australia, which has been operating locally since 2005 and has its own online shop.

Crocs alleges Mosaic infringed its trademarks by knowingly and recklessly selling knock-off shoes through its Rivers stores and e-commerce website.

Noni B has been targeted in the lawsuit. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Steven Saphore

Crocs alleges Mosaic described the footwear as having a “classic clog design”, knowing Crocs Inc calls its classic Crocs footwear “classic clog”.

Lawyers for the US company also claim Mosaic sold the Rivers clogs alongside its “genuine” Crocs clogs.

They allege this breached consumer law as consumers were likely to be misled into thinking the Rivers shoes were all genuine Crocs when some were not.

The legal action has been filed in the Federal Court of Australia.

Crocs Inc wants Mosaic Brands to pay damages or give an account of profits for its alleged trademark infringements.

It is also seeking compensation from Mosaic for alleged breaches of Australian consumer law, according to filed court documents.

Crocs’ lawyers allege that as a result of Rivers’ foam clogs, its business has lost profits due to reduced sales and suffered damage to its reputation and intellectual property.