Nike, Inc. and StockX’s legal saga continues.
According to court documents, Nike claims that the reselling platform is selling counterfeit sneakers, despite StockX’s claims of verified authenticity.
Nike purchased four counterfeit pairs of Nike sneakers on StockX’s platform. According to the filing, StockX “affixed its ‘Verified Authentic’ hangtag to each pair of counterfeit shoes and included a paper receipt in the shoe box stating that each pair of counterfeit shoes is ‘100% Authentic.'”
Nike claims that at least one of the four sneakers purchased is a part of StockX’s Vault NFT program, which the brand claims that it infringes and confuses consumers on the Swoosh’s image in the marketplace. Nike did not specify how many sneakers were purchased in total.
StockX issued a statement on May 11 claiming that Nike employees and executives use the platform to buy and sell, emphasizing the platform’s authentic verification process and standards.
“Nike’s latest filing is not only baseless but also is curious given that their own brand protection team has communicated confidence in our authentication program, and that hundreds of Nike employees – including current senior executives – use StockX to buy and sell products,” StockX said in a statement.
In February, the Swoosh filed a lawsuit against the resale platform and its NFT launch. The NFT program allows owners of the NFT to redeem the shoe in physical form in the future. In the original filing, Nike claimed that StockX sold over 500 Nike-branded NFTs. The lawsuit also stated that the NFTs have “inflated prices and murky terms of purchase and ownership.”
StockX responded in late March, claiming that its NFTs are “no different than major e-commerce retailers and marketplaces who use images and descriptions of products to sell physical sneakers and other goods, which consumers see (and are not confused by) every single day.”
StockX also stated that NFTs are “claim tickets” to access shoes stored in a “vault” after purchasing them, providing proof of ownership & authenticity. StockX claims that the “ticket” gives users the ability to bypass the authentication process, according to its statement.
Stay tuned to SoleSavy as we continue to follow the case and other industry news.