Skechers, New Balance, Walmart and Hu Liquidation file papers supporting the International Trade Commission’s recent decision that denied Converse design protection on the Chuck Taylor All-Star. The ITC was correct in finding that Converse’s Asserted Design Elements of a rubber toe cap, rubber toe bumper and midsole stripes should never have been issued a design patent, they assert, because the same elements were in continuous use by numerous companies for many decades right through to the present. Moreover, Converse’s own advertising in the past described the toe cap and toe bumper as functional elements of the design and therefore ineligible ... Log in to view full article.