Although Nike has already started to embrace digital assets by acquiring RTFKT (a company that creates digital sneakers) and may have plans for Nike NFTs – they are not happy about a retailer using NFTs to resell Nike sneakers.
In the latest lawsuit over NFTs, Nike is suing StockX – an online marketplace and clothing reseller, primarily of sneakers. In the lawsuit, Nike said that StockX’s ‘Vault NFTs’ are ‘unsanctioned products…likely to confuse consumers, create a false association between those products and Nike, and dilute Nike’s famous trademarks.”
On their website, StockX, a company valued in the billions, says that their ‘exclusive NFTs connect coveted physical products with investable digital assets.’ They also say that ‘in the near future, customers that own a StockX Vault NFT will be able to redeem their digital NFT and receive the physical item from our StockX Vault…a new, climate controlled, high security vault’. The redemption process is not currently available.
From the lawsuit, it’s clear Nike doesn’t want other companies using their brand to sell their shoes in this way. But, with the RTFKT acquisition, they are certainly expanding into the metaverse via NFTs.
Expect to see more of these kinds of lawsuits as new and unexplored paths are taken, digital assets go mainstream, and massive brands like Nike attempt to stake their claim.
Hopefully, we can learn from each lawsuit which could eventually make NFTs more accessible and transparent when mainstream adoption inevitably happens. Should StockX be allowed to use branded NFTs to sell their Nike stock if done in a fair and transparent manner? This lawsuit could answer this question as well as many more.
