Nike is not new to intellectual property discussions, both in and out of court. In 2022, Nike settled a patent infringement claim with Adidas and in April of this year, Nike was awarded $8m (£6.2m) in damages in a trade mark infringement case against Omi in a Hellcat, whose real name is Bill Omar Carrasquillo, for his trainers’ too similar resemblance to Nike’s famous Air Jordan 1 and Dunk model trainers. The below image is a comparison between Nike & Omi in Hellcat’s trainers.
Photo Source: Image via US District Court via Complex, from lawcommentary.com
Following on from this, Nike was recently involved in another trade mark infringement case against BAPE (A Bathing Ape) for a similar fact-patterned case. This case has been going on since 2000, with Nike filing the lawsuit early 2023. Nike alleged BAPE’s trainers resemble their Air Jordan 1 trainers, as well as the low Dunk shoes also. The image below demonstrates the similarities between the brands' shoes.
Photo Source: Image via JDsupra.com
In response, BAPE attempted to have the claim dismissed, stating that Nike had failed to identify the elements of the trainers that it was claiming BAPE had infringed. This motion was denied by the court. However, BAPE then attempted to claim that Nike had abandoned its rights entirely through the granting of third-party licences.
Before this claim had the chance to reach court, Nike and BAPE settled the lawsuit for an unknown amount. It is known that BAPE is required to discontinue a number of its trainers and to re-design them entirely as a part of the settlement agreement.
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