{"id":18,"date":"2013-09-18T22:51:12","date_gmt":"2013-09-18T22:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anatomicresearch.com\/?page_id=18"},"modified":"2025-09-05T19:26:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T19:26:55","slug":"adidas-license","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/anatomicresearch.com\/?page_id=18","title":{"rendered":"History of adidas<\/strong> License of Barefootwear"},"content":{"rendered":"

By the end of 1994 licensing negotiations between Frampton Ellis & Anatomic Research Inc. and adidas<\/strong>\u00a0successfully concluded in an exclusive license. \u00a0Adidas<\/strong>\u00a0initially called Frampton\u2019s technology barefootwear. \u00a0Adidas<\/strong> then renamed\u00a0the technology “Feet You Wear<\/strong>” and decided to make it their core technology to be used in 90 percent of their future footwear (excluding existing \u201cclassic\u201d models).<\/p>\n

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(Click on above article to enlarge)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Barefootwear was developed rapidly and brought to market in the fall of 1996 in a major marketing campaign as\u00a0Feet You Wear<\/strong>\u00a0with six different shoe models. \u00a0The news media featured many articles on Feet You Wear<\/strong>, including a\u00a0NEW YORK TIMES<\/strong>\u00a0article on Frampton\u2019s patent license with\u00a0adidas<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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(Click on above article to enlarge)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Trade media at that time referred to the brewing footwear battle between adidas<\/strong> and\u00a0Nike<\/strong>\u00a0as \u201cBare vs. Air<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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(Click on above article to enlarge)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Steffi Graf wore the first\u00a0Feet You Wear<\/strong>\u00a0tennis shoe to win the 1996 U.S. Tennis Open. \u00a0It is notable that, although she signed as an\u00a0adidas<\/strong>\u00a0endorser as a teenager, she had previously always worn the same old\u00a0adidas<\/strong>\u00a0tennis shoe model, refusing to wear the latest new\u00a0adidas<\/strong>\u00a0model until\u00a0Feet You Wear<\/strong> came along.<\/p>\n

Adidas<\/strong>\u00a0continued to develop the\u00a0Feet You Wear<\/strong>\u00a0line of footwear in 1997 through 2001 as its core technology, with many different models in every category of footwear, totaling well over a hundred different models in total during the period. \u00a0Kobe Bryant<\/strong> became the main basketball shoe endorser for\u00a0Feet You Wear<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A licensing dispute arose abruptly in the fall of 2001 that rapidly led to litigation between Frampton Ellis & Anatomic Research and\u00a0adidas<\/strong>. In 2003 a settlement was reached between the parties permanently ending the license.<\/p>\n

The following unsolicited article in Sole Collector<\/strong> summarizes the history of adidas’ Feet You Wear<\/strong> line of footwear.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0(Click on above article to enlarge)<\/em><\/p>\n