Nike Again Move to Protect Their Trademarks from Customisers
have again launched legal action to protect their valuable trademarks against a customiser, this time tackling Customs By Ilene, Inc. (aka ). On the back of earlier court action against and, of course, , the Beaverton brand is now attempting to protect one of its most beloved silhouettes: the .
According to , Nike are alleging that Drip Creationz are deconstructing and changing certain features of existing Air Force 1s ‘in ways Nike has never approved or authorized’. Team Swoosh are saying that the shoes contain ‘images, materials, stitching, and/or colorways that are not and have never been approved, authorized, or offered by Nike,’ including ‘fake and unauthorized Nike Swoosh designs, as well as third party trademarks and protected images’.
Nike are also taking issue with the fact these customs impact on the brand’s ability ‘to choose who it collaborates with, which colorways it releases, and what message its designs convey’. Nike have also stated that Drip Creationz is ‘not an authorized distributor or retailer of Nike products’ and are instead going ‘out of its way to deceive customers into falsely believing that they are purchasing genuine Nike products and/or that Nike has authenticated or approved of Drip Creationz’s products, in order to trade off of Nike’s brand and goodwill.’
The outcome of this lawsuit will be closely followed by the growing community of customisers, with fears the findings of this case may have a big impact on exactly what creatives can and can’t do to some of Nike’s best-known trademarks.
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