Source: @johngeiger_ / Instagram
For the past few months Nike has been suing the socks off of any and everyone who dares make a buck off of any of their classic silhouette designs, and if you thought they’d fall back for even a second, you’d be wrong.
According to Law360, customizer-turned-designer John Geiger is the latest to feel the legal muscle of the swoosh brand as he’s just been added to an existing lawsuit in which Nike claims his La La Land brand is infringing on their classic Air Force 1 silhouette. Nike feels that Geiger’s “GF-01” sneakers look a tad bit too much like the 1’s that helped make Nike the hottest sportswear brand in the streets today.
“By marketing and selling shoes using Nike’s registered Air Force 1 trade dress, John Geiger knowingly and intentionally creates confusion in the marketplace and capitalizes on Nike’s reputation and the reputation of its iconic shoes,” Nike states in the complaint.”
Well, they do kinda look alike, but so did Bape’s and Nike never came after them. Just sayin.’ La La Land responded to the claim by basically insinuating that Nike is just bullying people at this point and scaring customizers and designers into submission.
“Nike’s strategy aims to quash competition and intimidate legitimate businesses … that often lack the resources to defend themselves against such a well-resourced opponent,” said the manufacturer. “There is a bullying nature to these actions that chills creativity and lawful competition.”
They not wrong. John Geiger took to IG to address the situation and calls out Nike for banking off not only his own creativity, but that of others over the past 10 years and acknowledges that his “GF-01” kicks were inspired by the Air Force 1’s and that in itself shouldn’t be a crime.
Nike is all about their coin these days. It’s kinda sad to be honest. Instead of spending money on these high powered attorney’s they need to fix the SNKRS app to block off all these bots from eating. Just sayin.’
