OTHER NEWS - Feb. 9, 1993

Inventor Claims Reebok Copied ‘Pump’: Reebok International Ltd. fought court battles to protect the technology that inflates its “Pump” sneakers. Now a Texas inventor is trying to put the shoe on the other foot. Byron Donzis, head of Donzis Research in Houston, has filed a federal lawsuit in Boston, claiming that his representatives showed Reebok the design for inflatable shoes back in 1987. Donzis says Reebok agreed not to use the information without his permission, but then the company went ahead and introduced its “Pump” sneaker in 1989. Donzis said he believes that he is entitled to at least $1 billion in compensation. An attorney for Reebok said the lawsuit’s claims are “without merit” and that the company developed its shoe without any information from Donzis.