Plaintiff
2 cases as plaintiff.
HandsFree Labs is a technology and intellectual property company that designs and licenses hands-free footwear technology. Founded in 2019 by Mike Pratt, the private company, formally HandsFree Labs, Inc., is headquartered in Vineyard, Utah. It has received strategic investments from companies including Nike. While specific revenue figures are not public, HandsFree Labs has raised a total of $29 million in funding.
The company's primary business is inventing, patenting, and licensing its portfolio of "Foot Activated Shoe Technology" (F.A.S.T.). This technology enables users to put on and take off shoes without using their hands, often incorporating features like a titanium arc in the heel. HandsFree Labs monetizes its intellectual property through licensing agreements with major footwear brands such as Nike and New Balance. In addition to its licensing operations, the company is the parent of the consumer footwear brand Kizik, which commercializes the hands-free technology directly. The company's global intellectual property portfolio includes over 200 issued and pending patents.
The provided case data shows HandsFree Labs Licensing, LLC as a plaintiff in two patent infringement lawsuits, both filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. This litigation posture as a patent enforcer is consistent with its business model of developing and licensing a robust patent portfolio. The company actively asserts its patents against competitors who it alleges are using its proprietary technology without a license.
A notable recent case is HandsFree Labs Licensing, LLC et al. v. Skechers U.S.A., Inc., filed in 2025. In this lawsuit, HandsFree Labs, alongside patent-holding affiliate Fast IP, LLC and its brand Kizik Design, LLC, accused Skechers of willfully infringing on multiple utility and design patents related to its hands-free shoe technology in Skechers' "Hands Free Slip-ins" product line. This legal action underscores the company's strategy of vigorously defending the intellectual property that forms the core of its business.
Watchlist
Email-only, free, anonymous. We'll notify you when HandsFree Labs Licensing, LLC files another patent-infringement lawsuit. One-click unsubscribe from any alert.
The plaintiffs allege that Skechers' "Hands Free Slip-ins" line of shoes infringes on six patents related to hands-free footwear technology. The complaint asserts that Skechers knowingly and willfully infringed on four utility patents and two design patents.
This case is active. Defendant Skechers U.S.A., Inc. has filed a petition for inter partes review (IPR) challenging the patent's validity, and the district court case may be stayed pending the outcome of that proceeding.