US Patent Issued to NIKE on May 20 for "Sole structures and articles of footwear having conformable heel counter structures" (Italian, American Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,302,986, issued on May 20, was assigned to NIKE Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.).

"Sole structures and articles of footwear having conformable heel counter structures" was invented by Sergio Cavaliere (Venice, Italy), John Cross (Portland, Ore.), Neil Crumbleholme (Lake Oswego, Ore.), Roberto De Marchi (Treviso, Italy), Ryan R. Larson (Portland, Ore.), Tetsuya T. Minami (Portland, Ore.) and Courtney M. Wright (Portland, Ore.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Articles of footwear in accordance with some aspects of this technology include a foot support component and/or heel counter structure that includes openings, voids, and/or grooves around the hee...