Swimsuit & Underwear Law
Legal: Speedo LZR Racer; Not: Alleged Target Version of ‘Foxers’ Line?
Posted Feb 20, 2009, 07:24 pm CST
By Martha Neil
In the hotly contested world of competitive sports, high-tech materials and innovative designs can shave critical seconds off an athlete's time. So use of certain equipment, such as the Speedo LZR Racer suit many consider state-of-the-art, has been hotly debated in the governing bodies of various sports, and even the subject of lawsuits.
It appears that the popular swimsuit will continue to be legal under recommendations made today by FINA, the swimming world's standard-setter, reports the Washington Post. However, a ban has been proposed on athletes who wear more than one "technical" suit at a time, to try to take advantage of differing advantages that each offers.
Meanwhile, in the equally competitive world of fashion, a women's underwear designer has called foul on Target, contending in a federal patent infringement lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Virginia last week that the discount retailer's new line is a rip-off of her own top-selling "Foxers" product, reports the Blog of Legal Times.
“They did everything that I said I would do [for] them,” says April Spring of Spring & Associates, who contends that a Target representative met with her in 2007. “From color, to pattern, to lace, to the country I said I would manufacture them in.”
A Target spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by the BLT.
Earlier ABAJournal.com coverage:
Speedo Suit Rules Pool, Sparks Lawsuit
What’s Unfair Today May Be Fair Tomorrow, and Vice-Versa
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