Sneaker Giant Nike Sues Online Retailer for Selling Unauthorized Nike Shoe NFTs

Nike has filed a lawsuit against an online reseller using unauthorized Nike shoe images in non-fungible tokens (NFTs). “Those unsanctioned products are likely to confuse consumers, create a false association between those products and Nike, and dilute Nike’s famous trademarks,” Nike alleges.

Nike Sues Online Retailer Over NFT Sales

Sneaker giant Nike filed a lawsuit against online reseller Stockx in New York federal court last week for selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) using unauthorized images of Nike shoes.

Detroit-based Stockx, valued at more than $3.8 billion last year, began selling NFTs last month, Nike detailed, adding that the reseller has sold over 500 unauthorized Nike-branded NFTs.

The sneaker giant further noted that Stockx told buyers they would be able to redeem the tokens for physical versions of the shoes “in the near future.”

Nike claims that by minting “Vault” NFTs based mostly on popular Nike sneakers, Stockx is infringing upon and diluting its trademarks. According to the complaint:

Nike did not approve of or authorize Stockx’s Nike-branded Vault NFTs … Those unsanctioned products are likely to confuse consumers, create a false association between those products and Nike, and dilute Nike’s famous trademarks.

The lawsuit claims that complaints about the Stockx NFTs’ “inflated prices and murky terms of purchase and ownership” and buyers’ doubts about the legitimacy of Stockx’s products have hurt Nike’s business reputation.

Meanwhile, Nike is preparing to release its own virtual products later this month in collaboration with the digital art studio RTFKT, which it acquired in December.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and an order prohibiting Stockx from selling or promoting its Vault NFTs that use Nike marks. It also wants the resell marketplace to destroy the unauthorized NFTs.

The number of lawsuits involving NFTs is growing. Miramax sued director Quentin Tarantino in November last year over his plans to auction NFTs related to the 1994 film “Pulp Fiction.” Tarantino directed the movie but the studio distributed it. Last month, the French luxury design company Hermes sued artist Mason Rothschild over his “Metabirkin” NFTs of its Birkin bags.

What do you think about Nike’s lawsuit against the reseller over NFT sales? Let us know in the comments section below.

Kevin Helms

A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons