Over the past year or so, Nike has been very strict when it comes to copyright law and infringement. For instance, they recently went after Lil Nas X for his Satan shoe, and they even went after Warren Lotas for his Nike Dunk rip-offs. More recently, Nike has also gone after the manufacturer La La Land, who has worked with the likes of Lotas in the past.
Now, according to Complex Sneakers, Nike is adding famous sneaker customizer John Geiger to their La La Land lawsuit, as they believe his GF-01 shoe is an infringement on their work. As you can see below, the shoe is very obviously inspired by the Nike Air Force 1 Low, however, the swoosh is replaced by a cursive "g."
“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 explained in its legal filing.
Image via John Geiger
La La Land has been very adamant that Nike's lawsuit is frivolous and downright harmful to the sneaker community. Geiger feels the exact same way and explained as such on his Instagram page. As you can see below, Geiger notes that he has always made sure to separate his shoe from the Nike Air Force 1 and that nobody has mistaken his shoe for the real thing. The sneaker designer also noted that Nike has taken advantage of smaller creators for years, and this needs to stop immediately.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTGEfrOF7b7
Nike is the biggest sportswear brand in the world, so it should come as no surprise that they are constantly getting the legal eagles involved. As for this lawsuit in particular, there is still a lot to be determined, so stay tuned to HNHH for more updates.
