This week, Nike was involved in a legal dispute with the controversial design agency MSCHF for its collaboration of “Satan” shoes with Lil Nas X. If you lost – Nike filed a lawsuit against the Brooklyn brand over its sneakers full of blood similar to the Air Max 97s, and cited trademark infringement and dilution, false designation of origin and unfair competition.
What is above is far from the first time that Nike has pursued a smaller brand because of its intellectual property – Warren Lotas felt a similar ire for pirated Dunks at the end of last year. All of this is part of Nike’s ongoing war on counterfeiting, which, while understandable from a capitalist perspective, has the potential to stifle creativity. Or, as Jeff Staples said in an episode of Tennis conversation in December, “I’m always a fan of the DIY pirate culture. I just love it. That’s how Staple started. For me, that’s where true creativity happens. I can see the perspective from both sides, but I will say that brands have always driven the culture and it has always been uncomfortable for certain parts. “
Part of the discomfort here is that Nike’s approach to attack and destruction is extremely hypocritical – as the USPS pointed out in a statement posted on its website earlier this week. The statement refers to a Nike AF1 triggered earlier this month that appears to be inspired by USPS priority mail shopping boxes. The color palette is white, red and blue, and there is a USPS label on the heel, as you can see in the image above.
The statement says: “The postal service, which does not receive taxes for operating expenses and depends on the sale of postage, products and services to finance its operations, protects its intellectual property. Officially licensed products sold on the market expand the affinity with the Postal Service brand. and provide incremental revenue through royalties that directly support it. Sales of unauthorized and unlicensed products deny support for women and men working in the Postal Service. “
“This is an unfortunate situation where a major brand like Nike, which aggressively protects its own intellectual property, has chosen to leverage another brand for its own gain. The Post Office is disappointed by Nike’s lack of response to repeated attempts to reach The Post will take all measures it deems necessary to protect your valuable IP rights.
According to Statista, Nike’s global net profit in 2020 was about $ 2.54 billion – a year when the USPS had to launch its own product line to keep it afloat after Trump opposed the additional funding for the head of elections. It makes sense that, when dealing with such a gap in wealth and power, Nike feels that it can crush small brands that tear up their stuff while doing whatever they want. After all, this is basically how the Global North operates. Also:
You can still buy products from the USPS by the way – an Earth Day T-shirt just dropped and there are a few great long sleeves too. And if you’re going to take “whatever measures you deem necessary” against Nike, you’ll need all the monetary support you can get. Buy here.