Nike is increasingly suing sneaker custom designers

First Drip Creationz , now a former employee. Nike is taking the lawsuits very seriously right now. The Fashion Law recently posted on Instagram that the brand is now also taking Jeffrey Waskowiak aka KickRich to court. Reason: sneaker custom designs. All information about the lawsuit can be found here in the article.

According to multiple reports, Nike has now filed an official lawsuit in Oregon federal court against Jeffrey Waskowiak, a former Nike shoe designer, and his company KickRich LLC.

The lawsuit states that KickRich LLC sells "custom-made" sneakers that "allegedly combine genuine Nike soles with uppers made entirely by Nike." Nike's attorneys also say that the custom sneakers, which sell for "hundreds or up to several thousand dollars each ," feature "reproductions of Nike's famous Swoosh design and other proprietary trade dress."

FIND THE LATEST SNEAKER RELEASES HERE

The main reason for the lawsuit is said to be a custom Jordan 1 Mid "Amazon", which Nike believes creates a false connection to the company. Most notably, the brand says that Waskowiak is depriving them of the ability “to choose for themselves which brands to work with and to carefully choose where, when and how often their marks are used in order to self-direct the public’s perception of their brands.” Nike is now seeking damages and an injunction. Jeffrey Waskowiak could possibly paralyze his business with this.

Difficult topic. On the one hand, sneaker custom designs are a homage and there is a lot of work behind it. Customs are simply part of the business. However, as an ex-Nike employee, you are of course on thin ice and will certainly be under observation more quickly. If you don't take it that seriously and bring a fat Amazon "collabo" to Nike's top silhouette, we're less surprised by the lawsuit. Nevertheless, we hope for Jeffrey Waskowiak that the two parties will come to an agreement quickly and that he will not have to make huge payments to Nike.

For more news from the sneaker and fashion world, you can also find us on Facebook and Instagram.