The Most Gargantuan Crep Courtroom Conundrums of 2024 (So Far)
It may seem like sneakersphere lawsuits have become an all too common occurrence; however, these courtroom battles have always been going on in the shadows. In this age where everything is easily accessible by just a few clicks, the dark underbelly of sneaker lawsuits have come to the fore. Every year megalithic brands are taking each other to court for a broad range of intellectual property violations. There’s also been an uptick in customisers and creators getting sued by , with the biggest of the year being the $60-million lawsuit against . Here are the most megalithic of 2024 (so far)!
The Shoe Surgeon vs Nike
Arguably the biggest and most vexing lawsuit of 2024 is between Nike and the most famous sneaker customiser in the world – Dominic Ciambrone aka The Shoe Surgeon. Kicking off towards the tail-end of July, Nike filed for a trademark infringement lawsuit against the customiser in the Southern District of New York. Throughout the over-60-page lawsuit document, Nike mentioned multiple times that The Shoe Surgeon’s one-of-one customisations and one-off commissions weren’t the reasons for them taking legal action. Team Swoosh have actually worked with TSS multiple times on sneakers and events, even crafting multiple pairs for LeBron James. What Nike does focus on in the lawsuit though is highlighting the defendant's ‘Illicit Nike Empire’. This mainly focuses on TSS’s academy where he teaches the public how to make their own Swoosh sneakers. He was also in trouble for selling patterns, lasts and other tools to create iconic sneakers like the , along with unlicensed ‘collaborations’ with third-party brands. Also according to the lawsuit document, Nike said they’ve made multiple attempts to resolve this issue outside of the litigation context; however, TSS issued a statement a few days after the initial news stating he is 'confused Nike has chosen litigation over discussion’.
Currently, Nike are seeking the courts to stop The Shoe Surgeon from selling ‘counterfeit shoes’, plus kits, bundles and instructions on how to create Nike sneakers. They are also seeking statutory damages of over 30 trademarks, which totals $60 million or the profits from the defendant's ‘counterfeiting’, along with attorney fees.
Read an explainer of the full lawsuit .
The Shoe Surgeon vs Goyard
Nike wasn’t the only brand gunning for the demise of The Shoe Surgeon. Only a month ahead of Team Swoosh’s courtroom tirade, legendary French luxury goods brand Goyard also filed for trademark infringement. This lawsuit was submitted to the Central District Court in California early in June and alleges Ciambrone used its iconic monogram on sneakers and lighters without their prior authorisation. On top of that, Goyard are also stating the materials that TSS used weren’t sourced directly from them, so therefore the authenticity couldn’t be verified. According to Goyard’s legal team, they sent cease-and-desist letters to the sneaker customiser way back in June and July of 2022. Interestingly, the infringing products were removed from TSS channels at the time but reappeared in 2023 across his website and social media channels. On top of seeking the destruction of the remaining infringing products, which according to exploits their reputation and intellectual property for profit, the French brand is requesting the disclosure of the customiser's suppliers. Oh, and compensation for damages and legal expenses. Stay locked for updates on this case.
Nike vs Omi and Kool Kiy
Nike went for a two-in-one back in 2022, looking to sue two sneaker designers over infringing products. If you want to get into the weeds of this lawsuit, head here, but essentially Team Swoosh were suing Omi and Kool Kiy over their Nike lookalike creations. The latter customiser had his lawsuit officially settled in 2024 and was forced to pay $1 million in damages and cease production of his ‘By Kiy’ sneakers. This was much better than Omi. Bill Omar Carrasquillo aka Omi in a Hellcat had his lawyers withdraw from his counsel earlier this year after he was unable to pay outstanding fees owed to them. In March, the judge approved the withdrawal, which led to a victory for Team Swoosh. Omi in a Hellcat was banned from creating, promoting or selling lookalike Air Jordan 1s and Nike Dunk lookalikes on his platform. He was also ordered to pay a whopping $8 million in damages. Currently, Carrasquillo is serving a five-and-a-half-year sentence and fined $30 million on charges of conspiracy, copyright infringement, fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. This followed a separate case where he was indicted by the FBI on 62 counts that included wire fraud and public performance of a protected work. Read the original article right !
Nike vs BAPE (Settlement)
Back in 2023, Nike sued , calling into question several of their popular silhouettes including the iconic . Why it took so long for Team Swoosh to finally take action will always remain one of the sneaker industry’s great mysteries. In the lawsuit, Nike stated that the Japanese streetwear label had plagiarised some of their most recognisable sneakers, including the , and . Following the initial lawsuit filing, BAPE’s legal team requested that the complaint be dismissed. After some back and forth in the courts and over a year since the Nike versus BAPE lawsuit kicked off, the two titans of the streetwear industry finally reached a settlement. The long-awaiting closing of this matter states that BAPE agreed to discontinue the BAPE Sta Mid, Court Sta and Court Sta High. They also agreed to modify their Sta and Sk8 Sta.
For everything you need to know about this megalithic lawsuit, and more juicy details regarding the letter of dismissal head .
Bella Hadid vs adidas
Nothing has been made official with this lawsuit as of yet; however, it was revealed recently that Bella Hadid could be taking legal action against . If you didn’t catch what went down, Hadid was front-and-centre of the brand’s latest campaign highlighting the silhouette, which was originally released for the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. The Three Stripes have since pulled the campaign following criticism from Israel because of the connection to the Munich Massacre. Hadid is also of Palestinian heritage and has been vocal in her support for Palestine. After all this unfolded towards the end of last week, has reported that Hadid is ‘readying for a legal battle with adidas’. She is currently still signed to the German sportswear brand but ‘she feels they spearheaded a cruel and damaging campaign’.
Find a detailed explainer of this ongoing saga between Bella Hadid and adidas .
Vans vs MSCHF (Settlement)
The lawsuit between and kicked off way back in 2022 when the SoCal brand sued the viral marketers over their 'Wavy Baby' sneakers. After two years, on the case emerged, stating that both parties had reached a settlement. Within the agreement, MSCHF had to stop marketing and selling the infringing 'Wavy Baby' product that violated the SoCal brand's trademarks. In the settlement order, it was also stated that MSCHF acknowledged and agreed to the existence and validity of the Vans trademarks.
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