Trademark License and Certified Manufacturer Agreement between W. L. Gore & Associates and LaCrosse Footwear, Inc.
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Summary
W. L. Gore & Associates and LaCrosse Footwear, Inc. have entered into an agreement allowing LaCrosse to use Gore’s trademarks, such as GORE-TEX®, for specific footwear products in designated markets. The agreement outlines the proper use of Gore’s trademarks, quality and manufacturing standards, and geographic restrictions. LaCrosse must follow detailed guidelines to maintain trademark integrity and product quality. The agreement also specifies manufacturing locations and includes attachments on standards and trademark usage. This ensures that LaCrosse’s products meet Gore’s requirements and that Gore’s trademarks are used correctly and protected.
EX-10.18 3 v51179exv10w18.htm EX-10.18 exv10w18 
Exhibit 10.18
Contractual Agreements between
Gore and LaCrosse Footwear, Inc.
| Contents | ||
1 | Trademark License Attachment | |
2 | Certified Manufacturer Agreement Attachment | |
3 | Guide for Proper Use of Gore’s Trademarks | |
4 | Quality Standards | |
5 | Manufacturing Standards | |
TRADEMARK ATTACHMENT
| GORE’S TRADEMARK | PRODUCT and END USE (QUALITY STANDARD) | GEOGRAPHIC MARKET | BRAND OR LABEL | |||||||
GORE-TEX® | COF | AP (Asia Pacific): | LaCrosse | |||||||
| GORE-TEX® Black Diamond Logo GORE-TEX® GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY® GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY™ | GORE-TEX® Insulated Comfort Footwear for Hard Use: Hunting, Work for Hard Use-Special Purpose: Hunting Extreme Cold, Insulated Trekking and Hiking, Work Extreme Cold | Australia China Hong Kong Indonesia | Korea Macau Malaysia New Zealand | Philippines Singapore Taiwan Thailand | Danner | |||||
| GORE-TEX® Performance Comfort Footwear | EE (Eastern Europe): | |||||||||
| for Hard Use: Hunting, Work for Hard Use-Special Purpose: Heavy Duty Work | Armenia Belarus Bosnia-Herzegovina Montenegro | Georgia Macedonia Moldavia | Serbia Ukraine Croatia | |||||||
| TOF | EEA (European Economic Area): | |||||||||
| GORE-TEX® Extended Comfort Footwear for LES GORE-TEX® Insulated Comfort Footwear for LES, Military, and Workwear GORE-TEX® Performance Comfort Footwear for LES, Military, and Workwear | Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany | Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta | Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden UK | |||||||
| NA (North America): | ||||||||||
| USA | Canada | Mexico | ||||||||
| Other: | ||||||||||
| Japan Russian Federation | ||||||||||
| GTX® | COF | EEA (European Economic Area): | LaCrosse | |||||||
(licensed under special restrictions communicated separately by Gore in writing) | GORE-TEX® Insulated Comfort Footwear for Hard Use: Hunting, Work for Hard Use-Special Purpose: Hunting Extreme Cold, Insulated Trekking and Hiking, Work Extreme Cold GORE-TEX® Performance Comfort Footwear for Hard Use: Hunting, Work for Hard Use-Special Purpose: Heavy Duty Work | Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany | Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta | Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden UK | Danner | |||||
| TOF | NA (North America): | |||||||||
| GORE-TEX® Extended Comfort Footwear for LES GORE-TEX® Insulated Comfort Footwear for LES, Military, and Workwear GORE-TEX® Performance Comfort Footwear for LES, Military, and Workwear | USA | Canada | ||||||||
Pages 1 of 2
| GORE | Licensee | Japan Gore-Tex, Inc. | ||
Elkton, MD date | Portland, OR, date | Tokyo, date | ||
Lou DiPietro | Dave Carlson | Ichiro Yamada | ||
| /s/ Joseph P. Schneider 11-17-08 | ||||
| Joseph P. Schneider |
Pages 2 of 2
CERTIFIED MANUFACTURER AGREEMENT ATTACHMENT — FOOTWEAR
| QUALITY STANDARDS | MANUFACTURING STANDARDS | |
GORE-TEX® Insulated Comfort Footwear for: Hard Use: Hunting, Work Hard Use-Special Purpose: Hunting Extreme Cold, Insulated Trekking and Hiking, Work Extreme Cold | GORE-TEX® Footwear construction technologies: Double Lasting, Bootie Liner Technology | |
GORE-TEX® Performance Comfort Footwear for: Hard Use: Hunting, Work Hard Use-Special Purpose: Heavy Duty Work | ||
GORE-TEX® Extended Comfort Footwear for: LES | GORE-TEX® Footwear construction technologies: Double Lasting, Bootie Liner Technology | |
GORE-TEX® Insulated Comfort Footwear for: LES, Military, Workwear | ||
GORE-TEX® Performance Comfort Footwear for: LES, Military, Workwear | ||
MANUFACTURING LOCATIONS
LaCrosse Footwear, Inc. | General: | |
12722 NE Airport Way | Genfort Shoes Ltd. | |
Portland, OR 97230 | Second Industry District, Nan Lung Zhen Zhong Shan City, China |
| GORE | MANUFACTURER | |||
Elkton, MD, date | Portland, OR, date 11-17-08 | |||
| /s/ Joseph P. Schneider | ||||
Pages 1 of 1
GUIDE FOR PROPER USE OF GORE’S TRADEMARKS
W. L. Gore & Associates owns many valuable trademarks that identify and distinguish our products from those of other companies. Gore’s trademarks are well known to the end users and signify that Licensees are buying quality, state-of-the-art products from a company with a reputation for innovation, dependability, and integrity. Significant time, effort, and money have been spent in the research, development, and promotion of these products.
The Trademark License Agreement provides the Licensee with the ability to use specific Gore trademarks for the promotion and sale of Licensee’s Products, for example, outerwear/footwear/gloves (or other apparel accessories) as the case may be, under the terms and conditions of its License. This is intended to provide benefits to both Gore and Licensee. However, Licensee’s cooperation is required to assure that Gore’s trademarks are correctly used.
Trademarks can be lost if they are not used correctly. A trademark is lost when it becomes generic and sneaks into the language as a common name description of the product, as distinguished from the source and identity of the product. If a trademark becomes generic, the original owner loses exclusive rights to use the mark. Any competitor can then use the trademark and take advantage of the advertising and promotion dollars spent by the former owner.
Fortunately, it is fairly easy to protect Gore’s trademarks. Licensee needs only to comply with the following rules of proper trademark usage. These serve as examples only. Licensee will substitute licensed trademarks per the Trademark Attachment as appropriate.
| 1. | Most importantly, a trademark is a proper adjective, NOT a noun or a verb. When used such as in advertising, catalogues, promotions, brochures, hang tags, radio, etc., the trademark must always be followed by a noun signifying its generic or common name. The trademark must never be used alone when it appears in text. EXAMPLE: Right: “TRADEMARK” ® products Wrong: products made of “TRADEMARK” ® | |
| 2. | A trademark should always be used in a manner that will distinguish it from the surrounding text. Capitalize trademarks completely, or use initial caps with boldface type or italics. The generic product name should not be used in the same manner as the trademark (for instance, if the trademark is presented in all capital letters, the generic product name should not be). EXAMPLE: Right: “TRADEMARK” ® products Wrong: “TRADEMARK” ® PRODUCTS | |
| 3. | Trademarks should be followed by the symbol “®” or “TM”, or no designation at all, as appropriate for a given mark in a particular given geographical market. The appropriate trademark symbol should always appear at least once in each piece of printed matter, preferably the first time the trademark appears. Please contact your Gore representative to determine your appropriate designation. |
Pages 1 of 2
| 4. | Always accompany the trademark with the appropriate trademark ownership footnote. The footnote usually appears at the bottom of the last page. All Gore trademarks used by the Licensee must be listed in the trademark ownership footnote. EXAMPLE: “TRADEMARK”® products Footnote: “TRADEMARK”® and designs are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates. | |
| 5. | Trademarks should never be used in the possessive sense. EXAMPLE: Right: The popularity of “TRADEMARK” ® products Wrong: “TRADEMARK”s popularity | |
| 6. | Do not coin new words or terms for a trademark. EXAMPLE: Wrong: “TRADEMARKED” products | |
| 7. | Trademarks identify and distinguish Gore’s products from those of other companies, therefore, Gore’s trademarks must not be combined or intermingled with the trademarks of other companies. EXAMPLE: Right: “TRADEMARK” ® products by (Company’s Name) “TRADEMARK” ® products, the _________ collection from (Company Name) Wrong: (Company Name) “TRADEMARK” ® products (Company Name)’s “TRADEMARK” ® products | |
| 8. | In case of any doubts, please consult with your Gore representative for the correct interpretation and implementation of the above guidelines. |
Pages 2 of 2
CONFIDENTIAL
Footwear Quality Standard
GORE-TEX® INSULATED COMFORT FOOTWEAR
This attachment consists of contains technical manufacturing and design information which has been omitted and filed separately with the Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.
CONFIDENTIAL
Footwear Quality Standard
GORE-TEX® PERFORMANCE COMFORT FOOTWEAR
This attachment consists of contains technical manufacturing and design information which has been omitted and filed separately with the Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.
CONFIDENTIAL
TOF FOOTWEAR QUALITY STANDARD
GORE-TEX® EXTENDED COMFORT Footwear
This attachment consists of contains technical manufacturing and design information which has been omitted and filed separately with the Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.
CONFIDENTIAL
TOF FOOTWEAR QUALITY STANDARD
GORE-TEX® INSULATED COMFORT Footwear
This attachment consists of contains technical manufacturing and design information which has been omitted and filed separately with the Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.
CONFIDENTIAL
TOF FOOTWEAR QUALITY STANDARD
GORE-TEX® PERFORMANCE COMFORT FOOTWEAR
This attachment consists of contains technical manufacturing and design information which has been omitted and filed separately with the Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.
CONFIDENTIAL
MANUFACTURING STANDARDS FOR GORE-TEX® FOOTWEAR
This attachment consists of contains technical manufacturing and design information which has been omitted and filed separately with the Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.
CONFIDENTIAL
MANUFACTURING STANDARD FOR GORE-TEX® FOOTWEAR TOF
This attachment consists of contains technical manufacturing and design information which has been omitted and filed separately with the Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted portions.
