ROME, Ga. -- Glock GmbH's U.S. unit sued Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, and Sports Authority Inc., which operates sporting goods superstores, for selling knock-off air pistols that allegedly resemble too closely actual Glock weapons.
Wal-Mart and Sports Authority have been selling black BB-guns made by Daisy Manufacturing Co., based in Rogers, Ark., with a body design similar in appearance to that of Glock guns, according to a lawsuit filed April 24 in federal court in Rome, Georgia on behalf of Glock Inc., a Georgia unit of the privately-held Austria-based Glock.The lawsuit, which also names Daisy as a defendant, contends that Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., and Sports Authority, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., sell the Daisy Model 1700 as a Glock model, in violation of Glock's trademark rights.
The lawsuit says that Wal-Mart and the other defendants are "creating a public safety issue (because) members of the public could mistake, and may in fact have mistaken, the Daisy Model 1700 for a Glock pistol.
"This misidentification could greatly increase the perceived threat and increase the risk of an armed response," the lawsuit states.