Nike has filed a lawsuit against StockX, a streetwear resale marketplace, over unauthorized images of Nike shoes on NFTs. The online reseller began selling NFTs in January 2021. It told buyers that they would be able to redeem the tokens for physical versions of the shores in the near future.
Nike believes StockX is infringing upon and diluting its trademarks. According to the lawsuit, which has been filed in the New York federal court, the internationally renowned brand did not approve of or authorize StockX’s Nike-branded Vault NFTs. It said this is likely to confuse consumers and create a false association between those products and Nike. This will also dilute Nike’s famous trademarks.
The lawsuit states that StockX has chosen to compete in the NFT market by not taking time to develop its own intellectual property rights. The reseller has blatantly taken the freeriding path on the back of Nike’s famous trademarks and associated goodwill. And this is all without authorization or approval.
Nike claimed that StockX NFTs’ inflated prices, murky terms of purchase, and ownership in addition to the buyers’ doubts about the legitimacy of StockX’s products have hurt the brand’s business reputation. Through the lawsuit, Nike is seeking monetary damages. The American MNC is also seeking an order to prohibit StockX from selling or promoting the Vault NFTs that use Nike marks or logos. It wants the unauthorized NFTs to be destroyed.
Meanwhile, Nike plans to release a number of virtual products this month with Rtfkt, a digital art studio. The company became one of the first brands, in October 2021, to file trademark applications for its virtual goods.
