Style
Nike sues bape for copying sports shoe design copyright
Feb
Just days after Adidas lost a trademark battle with designer Thom Browne, Nike filed a lawsuit in court, accusing Japanese fashion house BAPE of copying the Air Force 1, Dunk, and Jordan 1 line.
Nike sues bape for copying sports shoe design copyright
Prior to the lawsuit, Nike had asked BAPE to stop manufacturing the alleged infringing products, but the streetwear brand “refused to do so”, leading Nike to file a lawsuit. Nike is asking the court to order Bape to stop selling the infringing products and to seek monetary damages.
Recently, Nike filed a lawsuit against Bape for copyright infringement of the Air Force 1, Dunk, and Jordan 1 line. The complaint states:
“Nike has spent decades building its authority and goodwill on those designs. In order to protect its rights, Nike is legally obligated to prevent infringers from posing a significant danger to Nike’s copyrights.”
As one of the fashion icons that pioneered Japanese street style, The Bathing Ape, also known as BAPE, originated in Ura-Harajuku – the famous Japanese fashion street in the 90s. The brand was founded in 1993 by designer Nigo, whose real name is Tomoaki Nagao.
Bape began selling sneakers in the mid-2000s, with designs inspired by Nike’s Air Force 1 line. BAPE products are as expensive as, or more expensive than Nike. They target sneakerheads – a group of qualified and passionate customers. Aside from replacing the swoosh with a star-shaped “STA” logo, the remaining details have little difference. Therefore, Nike is concerned that this similarity may make it easy for consumers to confuse the products of the two brands.
Nike alleges that Bape’s trademark infringement began in 2005. But products that infringed BAPE’s trademarks subsequently disappeared from the U.S. market for many years. The complaint states that prior to 2021, BAPE’s infringing products were produced in small quantities and “never more than a fraction of the millions of pairs Nike sells annually.”
However, the problem became serious when the sports giant noticed that after 2021, BAPE’s presence in the US began to increase. This coverage poses a bigger threat to Nike’s business. Nike’s complaint also lists numerous examples of athletic footwear publications where social media users have commented that BAPE, SK8 STA, Court STA, and Court STA High products resemble sneakers in style. Nike’s own.
Back in the 2000s, BAPE sneakers captivated the world as a flashier alternative to the Air Force 1 line. Customers came to BAPE because it was available in bolder and more vibrant colors than other brands. What Nike did on the Air Force 1, which is only pure white. And sometimes they choose to buy BAPE shoes because they can’t afford the limited design of the Air Force 1.
The fact that Nike has barely moved before the violation of BAPE for more than 20 years is said to bring a disadvantage in the lawsuit of the American “big man”. BAPE was able to convince the court that its name had been built long enough not to be confused with Nike.
Finally, there is a fine line between copying and inspiration. Through copyright lawsuits like Nike and Adidas… the act has come to strike a balance between protecting copyright and allowing creatives the freedom to build new designs from old ideas. Thereby minimizing the situation of copying or endless litigation from fashion brands.
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