ADVERTISEMENT Steve Madden Can't Trim Converse Shoe Design Patent Claim Law360 (August 2, 2021, 10:04 PM EDT) -- A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday denied Steve Madden Ltd.'s bid to dismiss part of a design patent infringement claim raised by Converse Inc. in its lawsuit over high top sneaker designs, finding that the shoes' looks are similar enough to preserve Converse's claim at this time. In a seven-page decision, U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton determined that the shoes are not "plainly dissimilar" when comparing illustrations of Converse's design patent to Steve Madden's allegedly infringing Madden Girl Winnona Flatform High-Top. The judge continued that it was possible that consumers could be confused or misled into thinking that "the accused...