Crocs faces legal battle over 'false advertising' allegations

A Canadian footwear brand has successfully “won” its case in the Federal Circuit against foam shoe giant Crocs for “false advertising in violation of federal false advertising laws.”

Dawgs said Crocs “must return to court” to respond to the above allegations related to its Croslite material, which the company had claimed was “patented.” Crocs subsequently admitted to the Federal Circuit that it never actually owned a patent on the product.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sent the case back to the Colorado federal court for further proceedings after “finding that the advertising made by Crocs since its founding more than 20 years ago” could be considered “false and deceptive advertising” under the Lanham Act.

Family-owned Dawgs (or Double Diamond Distribution Ltd) previously lost a case in 2022 when the Federal Court of Canada ruled that the company’s Fleece Dawgs shoes infringed Crocs’ Canada 939 design.

With its latest lawsuit, Dawgs claims that Crocs’ “deliberately false advertising successfully confused consumers” and caused financial losses to the company, causing it to now seek “ill-gotten gains.” According to Dawgs, Crocs could be "liable for hundreds of millions of dollars as a result."

"This verdict is not only a win for us, but also a win for fair competition and the millions of people who have been harmed by Crocs' false claims and intentionally false advertising," said Double Diamond Distribution CEO Steve Mann in a press release.

"Crocs has successfully defeated many competitors through never-ending litigation that has attempted to bury our family business for nearly 20 years. We are working hard to make this trial the beginning of the end of Crocs' outrageous lies. "