## Facts

- U.S. Shoe manufactured and sold women’s footwear, including the Easy Spirit line of “comfortable women’s dress pumps.”
- Beginning in 1988, U.S. Shoe promoted Easy Spirit pumps using the slogan “Looks Like a Pump, Feels Like a Sneaker,” including in print, point-of-purchase materials, and a television commercial depicting women playing basketball in dress shoes.
- U.S. Shoe spent over $9 million advertising using the slogan during 1988–1989 and experienced substantial sales increases for the pumps.
- Brown sold competing women’s pumps, including the Townwalker, and ran advertising with the headline “Think Of It As A Sneaker With No Strings Attached.”
- Brown’s ads also included smaller-print language: “And when we say it feels like a sneaker, we’re not just stringing you along.”
- U.S. Shoe sued under Lanham Act § 43(a) and state unfair competition law and sought a preliminary injunction to stop Brown from using “feels like a sneaker” and related wording in advertising.

## Issues

1. Whether “Looks Like a Pump, Feels Like a Sneaker,” or the phrase “feels like a sneaker,” functioned as a protectable mark (including whether it had acquired secondary meaning).
2. Whether Brown’s advertising created a likelihood of consumer confusion as to source, sponsorship, or affiliation under Lanham Act § 43(a).
3. Whether U.S. Shoe satisfied the Second Circuit standard for a preliminary injunction, including irreparable harm and the required showing on the merits (or serious questions plus a hardship balance tipping decidedly toward the movant).

## Decision

- The district court denied the preliminary injunction.
- The court found the contested language described a product attribute (sneaker-like comfort) and was not shown to function as a source identifier.
- The court concluded U.S. Shoe did not make a sufficient showing of secondary meaning, likelihood of confusion, or irreparable harm warranting immediate relief.
- The Second Circuit affirmed the denial.

## Legal Principles

- A preliminary injunction in the Second Circuit requires irreparable harm and either (1) likelihood of success on the merits or (2) serious questions going to the merits plus a balance of hardships tipping decidedly in the movant’s favor.
- Descriptive advertising language that communicates a product virtue is generally weak as a mark and is protectable only upon proof of secondary meaning.
- Secondary meaning requires evidence that consumers primarily associate the claimed phrase with a single source, not merely with the product feature being touted.
- Likelihood of confusion depends on multiple factors, including the strength of the asserted mark, similarity and context of the parties’ wording, proximity of the products, evidence of actual confusion, defendant’s intent, and consumer sophistication.
- Use of similar wording in a descriptive, non-trademark manner—especially where the defendant’s primary headline and overall presentation differ—can weigh against likely confusion and against preliminary injunctive relief.

## Conclusion

The courts denied preliminary injunctive relief because the “feels like a sneaker” phrasing was treated as descriptive of comfort rather than a source-identifying mark, U.S. Shoe did not adequately show secondary meaning or likely confusion, and the record did not justify a finding of irreparable harm at the preliminary stage.


United States Shoe Corp. v. Brown Grp., Inc., 740 F. Supp. 196 (S.D.N.Y. 1990), aff'd, 923 F.2d 844 (2d Cir. 1990)