Kanye West settles lawsuit with Walmart after suing the supermarket for selling ‘imitation’ Yeezy shoes

KANYE West has settled a dispute with Walmart after suing the superstore over the sale of $25 Yeezy shoes, The Sun can reveal.

The rapper and fashion designer claimed he could lose “hundreds of millions of dollars” after the retail giant apparently started selling nearly identical Yeezy Foam Runners.

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According to documents obtained by The Sun, Ye’s legal team filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court in June last year, citing California’s unfair competition law.

New papers filed in LA show Yes’s team agreed to settle in April this year, although details of monetary amounts are not disclosed. Kanye then filed to dismiss the lawsuit last month.

Ye originally sought an undisclosed amount in damages, interest, attorneys’ fees and costs of filing the lawsuit and removing the shoes from the site.

In the original 66-page complaint, Ye’s attorney alleged, “Walmart is blatantly trading in the popularity of West and the Yeezy brand by offering for sale a copycat Yeezy Foam Runner.”

“Consumers buy Walmart’s fake Yeezy Foam Runner shoes under the mistaken assumption that the shoes will be associated with West and the Yeezy brand.

“Yeezy is a multi-billion dollar brand and the harm caused to the plaintiffs as a result of Walmart’s illegal activities amounts to the best of our knowledge in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”

The complaint boasted about the success of the Yeezy business and listed the number of celebrities who wore Kanye’s shows, including his estranged wife Kim Kardashian.

It stated that Kanye is a “household name” in fashion and music and “trends everything he touches,” adding that the company is synonymous with the star and “one of the most influential and successful brands in fashion.” be.

The star’s own runners sell for around $75 and can be resold for hundreds online, while Walmart’s supposed wannabe runners, which come in a range of colors, were available for just $25 on its website.

In a statement at the time, Walmart said: “The product referred to in the complaint is not sold by Walmart but by third-party marketplaces.

“We take allegations like these seriously and are investigating the lawsuit. We will respond appropriately in court after the complaint has been served on us.”

Kanye’s attorneys sent a notice of alleged infringement, requesting that Walmart remove the knock-off shoes from its website and claiming they refused to do so before the lawsuit was filed.

Since the news broke, the product appears to have been withdrawn quickly, although The Sun has noted that a number of pairs are currently still available on eBay.

The original suit featured a number of comments from buyers of the shoes and social media users pointing out the apparent similarities.

“My son has requested the Yeezy slides but these look similar and are much cheaper,” one customer wrote, according to the suit on Walmart’s website.

While some said the imitation shoes were a perfect buy, others claimed the sizing was wrong, while others posted “torn after 20 minutes of wear” and “don’t buy this junk.”

It’s not the first time Yeezy and Walmart have been embroiled in a lawsuit, the star in a previous trademark dispute over a “sunbeams” logo he wanted to use similar to the store’s.

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