The NFTs in question are still online as Nike prepares to go on trial for the violated rights that emerged from the unlicensed sales.
Nike has kicked off the “licensed NFT” warfare by taking legal action against the online reseller StockX, for the unlicensed selling of NFT sneakers as well as trademark infringement.
As the Reuters report pointed out, Nike has taken the case in the New York Federal Court. The filed lawsuit demands a stop of the unlicensed NFT sneaker collection and requires an unspecified amount of damages to be paid by the defendant.
The online reseller StockX apparently launched the sneaker NFT collection last month when it informed buyers that with the NFT acquisition, they can claim the actual sneakers sometime after the purchase.
While Nike supports and endorses NFTs as a method through which the interaction among consumers and brands can be accelerated, a number of market actors seem to want to “usurp the goodwill of some of the most famous trademarks in the world and use those trademarks without authorization to market their virtual products and generate ill-gotten profits.”
The sports attire giant will soon release an NFT collection of its own later in February in an RTFKT collab.
Because of its popularity, NFT has become a go-to Public Relations and marketing instrument for corporations and celebs. NFTs, like every other prominent decentralized use case, have also reached a stage during which they are heavily exploited.
Aside from Nike, there has been a slew of additional cases involving major corporations and celebrities over NFTs. Miramax, the film’s production company, sued Quentin Tarantino claiming trademark infringement as the latter sold the NFTs of the picture in the market.