Nike filed a lawsuit against online reseller platform StockX in New York federal court today, February 3rd, over the unauthorized sale of Nike sneaker non-fungible tokens (NFTs), according to a Reuters report.
Nike’s lawsuit claims that StockX’s NFTs infringe on the sneaker giant’s trademarks and are likely to confuse consumers. With the lawsuit, Nike is requesting unspecified money damages and an order blocking their sales. StockX has sold over 500 Nike-branded NFTs on its platform since launching its NFT program last month.
Nike also claims that complaints about StockX’s NFTs’ “inflated prices and murky terms of purchase and ownership” and buyers’ doubts about the legitimacy of StockX’s model have hurt Nike’s business reputation.
According to StockX, its NFTs “connect coveted physical products with investable digital assets, from sneakers to creators to experiences and more.”
The first batch of StockX NFTs, dubbed Vault NFTs, consist of nine high-demand sneakers, all of them Nike products save for the Bad Bunny adidas Forum Low. This includes the Ben & Jerry’s Nike SB Dunk Low “Chunky Dunky,” A Ma Maniére Air Jordan 3, and Off-White Nike Dunk Low “Lot 50.” Those who purchase one of these StockX Vault NFTs can later resell it on the platform or redeem it for the real pair stored in the “StockX vault.” However, current resell prices for the StockX Vault NFTs are significantly higher than the resell value of their physical counterparts.
Representatives for both parties have not responded to a request for comment. Stay tuned to Modern Notoriety for updates on this story.