Hi everyone,
I’ve attached an article I thought was interesting. Nike is suing art collective MSCHF for its release of ‘Satan Shoes’ in collaboration with musician Lil Nas X. The modified Nike Air Max 97s contain Satanic imagery, including a pentagram and a drop of blood suspended in the sole of the shoes. MSCHF’s limited release of 666 pairs of these shoes, priced at $1018 USD each, sold out in under a minute.
On Monday, however, Nike filed a lawsuit against MSCHF for “trademark infringement, dilution, false designation of origin and unfair competition.” While the shoes are heavily modified by MSCHF, the Nike logo is still visible and prominent on the shoes. Nike is seeking injunctive relief to have the shoes destroyed, an order affirming their trademark rights, and damages.
From what I understand, Nike has the exclusive use of its trademark but an artist may use it in their work to the extent that there is no risk of confusion to the consumer. In this case, Nike alleges that there was confusion to the extent that the general consumer would think that Nike endorses Satanism.
MSCHF’s modus operandi is to modify well-known brands in their works (eg Birkenstocks made out of Birken bags, Chanel perfume bottles filled with Axe body spray) but I believe that this is the first trademark infringement lawsuit they are involved in, undoubtedly due to the potential and real damage to Nike’s goodwill. MSCHF is claiming that the shoes are artworks, rather than shoes, and that this case invokes freedom of expression issues. It will be interesting to see how this case plays out and what effect, if any, this has on trademark use in clothing modifications/ art.
Communications Law