Nike’s legal team has been hard at work combating companies that infringe upon its trademarks and intellectual property. After taking on Bape, John Geiger, and Kool Kiy, Nike is now turning its attention to Dominic Ciambrone, aka the Shoe Surgeon. The sportswear giant is accusing him of operating an “illicit Nike empire” that creates and sells fakes and encourages others to do the same through his Surgeon Academy. The Shoe Surgeon has developed a reputation for replicating popular Nike designs and colorways, offering a pricey “premium” alternative to pairs that have typically sold out directly from Nike.
What does Nike want? They want the Courts to immediately stop Surgeon from selling “counterfeit” shoes, stop his customization classes, stop using Nike intellectual property with collaborators, and they want MONEY to compensate them for the 30+ trademarks he willfully used to… pic.twitter.com/nVQHF6kM1M
— Sneaker & Streetwear Legal Services℠ (@SneakerLegal) July 15, 2024
A critical difference between this and previous lawsuits is that Nike and the Shoe Surgeon have worked together. From customization workshops to one-of-a-kind player exclusives, Nike has paid the Shoe Surgeon to execute custom designs and seminars. This creates a clear difference between authorized and non-authorized Shoe Surgeon projects. Even earlier this month, the Shoe Surgeon was behind the viral Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 low customs given out to guests of Michael Rubin’s famous 4th of July “White” party. It is unclear whether those customs were done with permission from Nike, but Travis Scott was in attendance.
NIKE does mention that they gave permission to Surgeon on “a few limited prior engagements” related to commissioned one-off customizations. pic.twitter.com/494ZKmrOgQ
— Sneaker & Streetwear Legal Services℠ (@SneakerLegal) July 15, 2024
The lawsuit also mentions unauthorized “collaborations” using Nike trademarks with significant companies like Chime, Dior, Twix, Goyard, and more. Ultimately, Nike is looking to eliminate confusion in the marketplace and seeks $60 million in damages or profits from selling counterfeit products. Custom sneakers have existed as long as the sneaker culture existed, and the implications of this case will impact the market and subculture moving forward. Sneaker Legal has a great breakdown of the lawsuit on his X account.
