UPDATE: Nike Has Filed a $60M USD Lawsuit Against The Shoe Surgeon

2024-07-22

As the custom and bootleg market has continued to grow within the sneaker scene, Nike has responded by protecting its brand and IP via lawsuits against prominent parties ranging from Warren Lotas and John Geiger to BAPE and Kool Kiy. While the three aforementioned cases have all been settled, a new lawsuit has surfaced — one against The Shoe Surgeon. The suit demands $60M USD in damages — which, it notes, are “the profits the defendant generated from counterfeiting, trebled, along with attorneys’ fees” — relating to over 30 Nike trademarks.

The Shoe Surgeon specializes in selling bespoke creations often based on existing Nike silhouettes, including working with collaborators to create their own Nike designs without Nike’s approval. He’s in fact worked with the brand on occasion to craft unique pairs for Nike-sponsored athletes like LeBron James, however, “after many attempts to resolve this matter privately,” as Nike describes the situation, the Swoosh has escalated the matter to a legal one, as first reported by Sneaker Legal. Nike does not only have a problem with the usage of their brand and its designs, but that The Shoe Surgeon runs classes that teaches people how to replicate their trademarks too. Nike’s lawsuit follows less than a month after Goyard, whose signature monogrammed fabric and leather have appeared on The Shoe Surgeon’s custom sneakers, sued The Shoe Surgeon as well, alleging that the company never received its “consent” or “authorization” to use the trademarked materials, and also that there was no proof the Goyard material used was authentic.

In conversation with Hypebeast, Nike’s PR team noted that the lawsuit was “unfortunate” as the brand has long worked with The Shoe Surgeon on one-off customs for its sponsored athletes, and had tried to privately resolve the matter for years, but that The Shoe Surgeon scaled up his operation while continuing to “promise” he would respect Nike’s IP rights.

Forward from: https://hypebeast.com/2024/7/nike-the-shoe-surgeon-lawsuit-info