Are Hot and So Are Its Cybersquatters — Vibram FiveFingers

Barefoot alternative is hot, but firm is challenged by counterfeits and cybersquatters.

Vibram FiveFingers “shoes” are all the rage these days. The shoes are kind of like gloves for feet with five separate toe compartments. Barefoot running is popular, and FiveFingers are pitched as an even better alternative.

Although my podiatrist tells me to skip the hype, Vibram FiveFingers are selling like hot cakes. And that means lots of knock-offs and counterfeits. If you go VibramFiveFingers.com the first thing you’ll notice is a warning regarding counterfeits. Go to the U.S. site and you’ll see a big red box with “counterfeit education”.

The firm is using a number of tools to fight online sales of counterfeit products, counting filing 16 separate UDRP disputes to date (all but one were filed since May this year). The domain names at issue either included pay-per-click ads or sold counterfeit goods, as stated by the complaints. So far Vibram is 5-0 in UDRP cases.