Nike Inc. escalated its legal battle with sneaker marketplace StockX, saying it had purchased four pairs of counterfeit shoes on the platform.
Nike Inc. Its legal battle escalated with sneaker marketplace StockX, saying it had purchased four pairs of counterfeit shoes on the platform, despite the company’s promises that it will only market authentic footwear.
The world’s largest sportswear manufacturer has asked a federal judge to add counterfeit and false advertising claims to its current trademark infringement lawsuit against StockX. It said it had taken off the fake shoes, including a counterfeit Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG, between December and January.
“Those four pairs of counterfeit shoes were all purchased on the StockX platform within a short period of two months, they all had the StockX ‘Verified Authentic’ hang tag on them, and they all came with a paper receipt from StockX in the shoe box that stated that the condition of the shoes is ‘100% Authentic’,” Nike said in a court on Tuesday.
Nike sued StockX in federal court in Manhattan in February, accusing the market of “blatant freeriding” on Nike’s trademarks and goodwill with a service called Vault NFTs. StockX argued that its NFTs are not digital sneakers, but simply lists for physical sneakers that are stored in its vault and can be traded by users.
StockX said in a statement Wednesday that it takes customer protection “extremely seriously” and has invested millions of dollars to “fight the spread of counterfeit products that faces virtually every global market today.”
StockX added: “Nike’s latest filing is not only groundless, but also curious given that their in-house brand protection team has communicated confidence in our authentication program and that hundreds of Nike employees — including current senior executives — are using StockX to buy.” and sell products.”
Legal skirmishes erupt over NFTs as they become more mainstream, attracting major brands ranging from Louis Vuitton to Taco Bell. Nike bought virtual sneaker maker RTFKT for an undisclosed amount in December and launched its own digital shoes last month.
StockX is said to be planning to go public as alternative assets such as sneakers and collectibles have become a popular market for investors. The company said in April 2021 it was valued at $3.8 billion after a secondary offer.
Nike’s move “represents nothing more than a panicked and desperate attempt to revive the lost lawsuit against our innovative Vault NFT program, which is revolutionizing the way consumers can purchase collectibles safely, efficiently and sustainably.” , store and sell,” StockX said. “Nike’s challenge has no merit and clearly demonstrates their lack of understanding of the modern market.”
The case is Nike Inc. v StockX LLC, 22-cv-983, US District Court, Southern District of New York.