ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,295,456, issued on May 13, was assigned to Lululemon Athletica Canada Inc. (Vancouver, Canada).

"Footwear upper comprising stretch zones" was invented by Michael Andrew Notrica (Portland, Ore.), Mark Arthur Oleson (Portland, Ore.), Donald Taylor Johnston (Portland, Ore.) and Christopher Ka-Yin Lam (Portland, Ore.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An upper of an article of footwear comprises a plurality of stretch zones each having a respective stretching capability. Suitable example stretch zones may include four-way stretch zones, two-way stretch zones, and/or lock-out zones. In some examples, an upper having a plurality of stretch zones c...