The ongoing feud between two of the footwear industry’s biggest players continues to escalate, with Nike now adding another string to their lawsuit, claiming that StockX has been selling counterfeit Nikeand Jordan Brand products.
The fresh allegations of counterfeiting and false advertising was tacked on to their existing trademark-infringement lawsuit with the aftermarket platform on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.
Nike alleges that they have now purchased four pairs of fake shoes from StockX over the past few months.
As per the court filing, Nike stated: ‘Those four pairs of counterfeit shoes were all purchased within a short two-month period on StockX’s platform, all had affixed to them StockX’s ‘Verified Authentic’ hangtag, and all came with a paper receipt from StockX in the shoe box stating that the condition of the shoes is “100% Authentic”.’
Just how many pairs were purchased, what processes Nike used to verify their product, or who was responsible for the verification remains unknown.
Only one of the four pairs is mentioned by name, the Air Jordan 1 High OG “Patent Bred” (referred to as the Black/Varsity Red-White colorway in the filing). This is significant because the sneaker is not only one of the eight StockX Vault NFTs Nike says is infringing on its trademarks, but it’s StockX’s best-selling sneaker NFT with 518 units sold at the time of the amendment.
Image via U.S. District Court / Complex
Nike has raised concerns that StockX sources it’s NFT “Vault” shoes from the very same marketplace in which the fake products were purchased, and that they undergo the same authentication process that the alleged fake pairs received.
“Nike is all the more concerned that StockX has linked the infringing Nike-branded NFTs to counterfeit goods and sold those ‘claim tickets’ to fake shoes at heavily-inflated prices to consumers who had no opportunity to inspect the shoes before reselling the NFT to another unsuspecting consumer,” the updated complaint says.
Nike originally filed the lawsuit back in February of this year in a complaint of StockX’s ‘Vault’ NFTs which featured Nike’s trademarked sneakers. Then in April, the resell giant hit back, saying that the claims made ‘lack merit, disregard settled doctrines of trademark law (including those of the first sale and nominative fair use), and show a fundamental misunderstanding of the various functions NFTs can serve.’
Update // StockX has responded to Nike’s additional claims, reiterating their pledge to consumer protection, and taking a handful of jabs back at the Swoosh. See the full statement just below, and stay tuned for further developments as the case continues.
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