SAN FRANCISCO — A U.S. appeals court says a shoe made by American footwear giant Skechers is nearly identical to an iconic Adidas shoe and likely confuses consumers about their manufacturers.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling blocking Skechers from selling its Onix shoe.

Adidas argued in a lawsuit that the Onix was an illegal rip-off of its Stan Smith tennis shoe.

The 9th Circuit judges said the shoes had only minor differences, and there was evidence that Skechers intended to confuse consumers.

An email to Skechers spokeswoman Jennifer Clay was not immediately returned.