The athletic apparel retailer Lululemon filed a lawsuit against the fitness company Peloton on Monday, accusing it of patent infringement over the designs of a new line of leggings and sports bras.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, accuses Peloton of trade dress infringement, false designation of origin and unfair competition. Lululemon is seeking an injunction against Peloton as well as a jury trial, damages and other monetary relief.
Peloton and Lululemon ended a co-branding relationship this year, a split that Peloton described as amicable, according to court documents. Peloton introduced a new apparel brand in September.
In its suit, Lululemon said that five Peloton-branded women’s bra and legging products, including the Strappy Bra, the Cadent Laser Dot Bra and the Cadent Laser Dot Legging, “were infringing” on six Lululemon patents.
Lululemon also claimed that a Peloton product labeled One Luxe Tight was an imitation of one of Lululemon’s best sellers, the Align Pant.
Peloton declined to comment on the lawsuit on Tuesday.
Shannon Higginson, senior vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer at Lululemon, said in a statement that the company was “confident in our position and look forward to properly resolving this case through the courts.”
“Unlike innovators such as Lululemon, Peloton did not spend the time, effort and expense to create an original product line,” Lululemon said in its complaint. “Instead, Peloton imitated several of Lululemon’s innovative designs and sold knockoffs of Lululemon’s products, claiming them as its own.”
The suit is the latest escalation in a dispute between the two popular brands. On Nov. 24, Peloton filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, asking for a court declaration that it had not infringed on any of Lululemon’s patents.
Peloton said in its complaint that its merchandise “has clear and obvious differences that allow the products to be easily distinguished” from Lululemon’s products.
On Nov. 11, lawyers for Lululemon sent a cease-and-desist letter to Peloton saying that the company would sue unless Peloton stopped selling “copy-cat products” that infringed on Lululemon’s “design patent and trade dress rights.”
In its complaint, Peloton said that Lululemon’s “allegations lack any merit,” adding that the companies’ “brands and logos are also distinctive and well-recognized, making confusion between products a virtual impossibility.”