JUST SUE IT

If it's one thing we can all learn from Nike, it's that Nike does not play about Nike. They will sue any and every body to protect their brand and intellectual property. Nike is quite actually suing people all across the universe and the metaverse. As petty as it may seem, it is a necessity, especially in this current Alibaba/Shein/Fashionnova climate. This is not your mother's Canal St. This era of bootlegging or as we call it in the law-infringement, has reached new heights. The fight to protect what you have built is more serious than ever.

Nike has had some historic lawsuits, like the 3 Adidas designers that violated their noncompete clauses by leaving Nike and immediately going to work for Adidas. As if that was not enough, then they sued Adidas for patent infringement in regards to their prime knit technology alleging that it was ripped from their flyknit technology. Nike suing competitors with similar products is not really that much of a surprise, but they haven't stopped there.

Nike has also sued and or sent cease and desist letters to several smaller sneaker brands that bear striking resemblance to the Nike's most recognizable silhouettes. Nike has taken it a step further by registering 7 of their most notable shoes (Air Max 90, Foamposites, Air Jordan 1, 3, 4,5 & 11) with the USPTO.

Stock X found out the hard way that Nike is not to be played with - not even in the metaverse. Nike has lodge an infringement suit against the online reseller because they were selling digital Nike's sold as NFTs in the metaverse. The real world is generally slower than the metaverse but even the USPTO has moved with expedience in providing for NFT registrations to enable brands to protect their intellectual property in the metaverse. Needless to say Nike has already begun ramping up their virtual goods trademarks. There is a rumor that there will be a dedicated docket for these types of lawsuits - however, I can neither confirm nor deny that rumor.

Hold up wait a minute, y'all thought they were finished?!?!? Nike has even sent a cease and desist letter to a small business owner in California who sells succulent plants based off of her slogan - JUST SUCC IT. I am not making this up. There are several other lawsuits pending and if you ever find yourself in need of some "light" reading, you should google "Nike lawsuits". As serious as the swoosh is about brand protection there have been some brands that they have never gone after and it's perplexing to many, one in particular is BAPE. There are several rumors in the industry on why Nike has never sued them, ranging from Nike took a stake in the company instead of suing them, to Nike viewed the sneaker as homage shoe and that's why they decided not to sue (that's a hard one to believe given Nike's track record). There was also the rumor that the patent on the Air Force 1 had expired at the time BAPE dropped their sneaker so there was no actual infringement issue. I wonder if the actual factual will ever come to light - I am sure if I scoured my sneaker network I could find the truth but hey, who doesn't love a good folklore.

At Lessington Law, intellectual property infringement is absolutely frowned upon and we encourage you to position yourself like Nike has, so that you too are able to defend all that you have built. Reach out to Lessington Law today to file your trademark.

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