Back in the day, when people heard the words “Nike lawsuit”, they used to think ‘sweatshop’ and ‘worker exploitation’, but after Nike implemented various social responsibility initiatives, increased transparency in their supply chain, and worked to improve labor conditions in their supplier factories… it’s now Nike who are entering the courts of justice on the front foot.
In 2019, Nike registered ‘trade dress’ protection for 18 of its sneakers. The three most prominent silhouettes being the Air Force 1, Air Jordan 1 and Dunk. And while we all know words like “Nike” and “Nike Air” have their own trademarks, the trade dress protects the silhouettes and appearances of sneakers.
At one stage, Nike moved swiftly to ensure patents were in place for many of their designs, rushing through 1500 patents in a three-year timespan. Since footwear designer Mark Parker became CEO in 2006, they began filing for around 500 patents annually.
Alongside this, as Nike noticed more and more fake sneakers on the market, they would come out firing… or filing I should say… as they filed lawsuits against 600 websites and 600 social media accounts for selling counterfeit sneakers.
The cases they’ve taken to court over the years range from smaller, unknown parties, to some worldwide brands.
Join me as we take a look at Nike’s most controversial lawsuits.
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Presented by David Mederos
Script by Kieran Coyle
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