Source: Joe Raedle / Getty
Nike does not play when it comes to its likeness or its products. StockX is the latest company to find that out.
Per NiceKicks, the sportswear industry leader slapped the online sneaker resale website with a lawsuit in federal court on Thursday (Feb.3) for allegedly “selling unauthorized images of Nike shoes marking the latest lawsuit over NFTs and digital assets.”
The lawsuit claims that StockX’s Vault NFTs “infringe on Nike’s trademarks and will likely confuse customers.” Nike is seeking unspecified damages and is requesting an injunction blocking further sales of the NFTs. The complaint also states StockX sold unauthorized NFTs of its trademarked sneakers, telling customers they would be able to redeem the digital tokens or the actual sneakers “in the near future.”
According to StockX’s public sales data, the company has sold over 500 Nike branded NFTs, one of them selling for $7,500. The lawsuit also points out the company’s “inflated prices and murky terms of purchase and ownership” and points to buyers’ skepticism about in regards to the validity of StockX’s business model, which has hurt Nike’s reputation.
Nike’s lawsuit also named an Input Mag article that called out StockX’s NFT jig calling it “a scam in plain sight.”
Nike is also planning on dropping digital goods, stating in its lawsuit that it will “a number of virtual products” in collaboration with digital art studio RTFKT, which it acquired in 2019. The Swoosh also filed to trademark CrytpoKicks a clear indication that Nike planned on stepping into the world of NFTs.
StockX isn’t the first company to feel Nike’s wrath. The sportswear brand has sued MSCHF, Sketchers, Warren Lotas, John Geiger, and Lululemon.
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Photo: Joe Raedle / Getty
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