BIRKENSTOCK WINS COPYRIGHT CASE AGAINST LIDL: DUTCH COURT ORDERS INJUNCTION AGAINST LOOKALIKES OF BIRKENSTOCK CLASSICS

LINZ AM RHEIN, Germany, Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- THE DISTRICT COURT OF GELDERLAND, SITTING IN ARNHEM, RULED IN FAVOR OF BIRKENSTOCK IN A LANDMARK COPYRIGHT CASE CONCERNING LIDL'S LOOKALIKES OF BIRKENSTOCK'S CLASSIC SANDALS.

The court issued an injunction prohibiting Lidl from selling unauthorized copies of BIRKENSTOCK's iconic Arizona, Madrid, Gizeh, Boston and Florida models. It held that all of Lidl's sandals at issue infringe, in particular, the copyright in the footbed design of the BIRKENSTOCK sandals.

The court ordered that:

• Lidl must cease offering all of the infringing sandals in the Netherlands, subject to a penalty of €5,000 per day of non-compliance;
• Lidl must provide a declaration detailing its sales and orders;
• Lidl must compensate BIRKENSTOCK for the damage caused, with the amount to be determined in separate proceedings; and
• Lidl must reimburse BIRKENSTOCK's legal costs, the amount of which will likewise be determined in separate proceedings.

This is the second time that a Dutch court has reached a conclusion different from that of the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH), which denied copyright protection for BIRKENSTOCK sandals last year.

On 12 November 2025, the District Court of Midden-Nederland ordered shoe retailer Scapino to cease selling BIRKENSTOCK lookalikes. That judgment is currently under appeal.

Shortly afterwards, on 4 December 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed in its Mio and konektra judgment that products of industrial design, such as the iconic BIRKENSTOCK sandals, may qualify for copyright protection if they are the expression of the author's own intellectual creation and reflect free and creative choices.

Today's judgment of the Arnhem court is a first-instance decision and may still be appealed. BIRKENSTOCK will continue to defend its rights vigorously and will use all available legal means to combat imitations of its iconic products.

To protect its retail partners and consumers, BIRKENSTOCK will continue to take decisive action against copycats seeking to profit from the company's creative ideas and innovations.

The message is clear: Copycats must not be allowed to free-ride on BIRKENSTOCK's creativity and innovation.

ABOUT BIRKENSTOCK

BIRKENSTOCK is a universal brand which embraces all consumers regardless of geography, gender, age, and income, and which is committed to a clear purpose – maintaining foot health. Deeply rooted in studies of the biomechanics of the human foot and footed on a family tradition of shoemaking that can be traced back to 1774, BIRKENSTOCK is a timeless "super brand" with a brand universe that transcends product categories and ranges from entry-level to luxury price points while addressing the growing need for a conscious and active lifestyle. Function, quality and tradition are the core values of the lifestyle brand which features products in the footwear, sleep systems and natural cosmetics segments. BIRKENSTOCK is the inventor of the footbed and has shaped the principle of walking as intended by nature ("Naturgewolltes Gehen").

With around 7,200 employees worldwide, BIRKENSTOCK is convinced that how things are made matters as much as the product itself. To ensure these quality standards, the Group operates a vertically integrated manufacturing base and produces all footbeds in Germany. In addition, BIRKENSTOCK assembles over 95% of all products in Germany and sources over 90% of materials and components from Europe. Raw materials are processed to the highest environmental and social standards in the industry. For materials testing BIRKENSTOCK operates state-of-the-art scientific laboratories.

Headquartered in Linz am Rhein, the BIRKENSTOCK Group also operates its own sales offices in the United States and Canada as well as in Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Dubai, Singapore, India, China, and Australia.

Birkenstock Group B.V. & Co. KG

Burg Ockenfels, Linz am Rhein, Germany

For further information, please visit www.birkenstock-group.com 
You can find our online shop at www.birkenstock.com