Patent ID: 7845096

Claim:
An outsole for a shoe comprising: an outsole-forming backing member made of TPR, said backing member providing a portion of a ground contacting surface of said outsole and including an insert backing region formed within an interior area of said backing member, said insert backing region comprising a plurality of protrusions that provide another portion of said ground contacting surface of said outsole; and a fabric insert disposed within said insert backing region of said backing member to provide a fabric contact area of said ground contacting surface of said outsole, said insert comprising: a base layer made of a fabric; an intermediate layer adhered to an innermost surface of said base layer and to said backing portion of said backing member, said intermediate layer made of TPU; an outer layer, formed on an exposed outermost surface of said base layer, said outer layer comprising a dried coating of soluble TPU on the order of 0.2 mm thick; and a plurality holes through which said protrusions of said backing member extend and project beyond said outer layer of said fabric insert, said fabric insert sized such that said fabric contact area provides a particular amount of said ground contacting surface of said outsole such that a shoe including said outsole can be classified under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to incur a tariff rate lower than a shoe having an outsole having no fabric contact area or a shoe having an outsole having a fabric ground contact area that is not sufficiently sized to permit such classification.