Y?all know I?m a big God-lover over here, so when Lil? Nas X?s ?Satan Shoes? popped up over the weekend, I was all about blocking them from my feed. #thisgirldonthavetimefornonsense
But then the lawyer in me did a double-take when I saw the Nike swoosh front and center on these shoes, and I thought to myself, ?Nike approved these? Really?! I don?t think this is going to be good for their brand.?
And I was right. It wasn?t.
Here?s what I didn?t know though ? Nike had nothing to do with these shoes. Their logo was used without their consent by streetwear brand MSCHF – the designer of the ?Satan Shoes.??
So what did Nike do?
They filed a lawsuit against MSCHF claiming that the unauthorized ?Satan Shoes? were likely to ?cause confusion and dilution and create an erroneous association between MSCHF?s products and Nike.? And continued, ?Decisions about what products to put the ?swoosh? on belong to Nike, not to third parties like MSCHF.?
???
I love that Nike wasted no time here and did exactly what they should have done – addressed it and took swift legal action.
That?s what having a trademark allows you to do.?
And while I know that most of us don?t have brands as well known as Nike, I also know that trademark infringement is trademark infringement and every brand that has a registered trademark has the right to defend their brand.?
So how do you think this will all play out? Will Nike be awarded damages? Will MSCHF have to pull their ?Satan Shoes?? Leave a comment and let me know who you?d side with in this case.?