US-based footwear retailer Crocs has filed a complaint against its rival company Joybees in the US District Court of Colorado for “misappropriation and use of its trade secrets.
As per a court document shared by Reuters, Crocs has claimed that its rival company has used its trade secrets, as well as some proprietary and highly confidential business information, without any authorisation.
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The Reuters report said that the US-based footwear firm has also accused Joybees and its chief executive Kellen McCarvel of “stealing” their trade secrets and “unfair competition.”
The lawsuit claimed that McCarvel, who previously worked as a mid-level manager at Crocs, is responsible for “unlawfully” taking proprietary information after he left the company.
The report cited another statement from 7 July, in which Crocs said it will “protect and defend its intellectual property and proprietary information against third party theft and abuse.”
Crocs’ latest complaint was filed a day after Joybees registered a complaint against Crocs in the same court.
The newly filed complaint is separate from Crocs’s previous lawsuit in 2021. This old case is still pending in the Colorado federal court.
In response to Crocs’ claims, Joybees said that the rival company has been trying to monopolise the market for circulation and use of “injection-moulded clogs,” which violates the US and state’s antitrust laws.
Furthermore, Joybees emphasised that all the allegations made by Crocs against its CEO McCarvel are “without sufficient information.”
Joybees alleged that Crocs has abused its monopoly power, especially through “exclusive and conditional dealings.”
This has also cost Joybees a loss of more than $1.6m in annual revenue.
Joybees also said it was seeking a declaration that its shoes had not violated Crocs’ intellectual property protections.
In 2021, Crocs requested the International Trade Commission to stop the import of trademark-infringing products across the country.
