Not everyone sees things Nike’s way, of course. And, while historically this has mostly been a view limited to the kinds of independent creators who stand to benefit from looser regulations, a legal challenge filed this week by a New York-based law firm takes things to a new and considerably more serious level, accusing Nike of fraud in their trademark application .
Still, it’s hard to see the US patent office reversing its decision anytime soon given Nike’s standing as a global household name rooted firmly in America. The trademarking of the Air Jordan 1, like it or not, is pretty much a done deal at this point.
And so, moving forward, the question isn’t whether the ruling will hold but rather what that means for the people whose livelihoods and cultures will be most affected by tighter legislation. To a brand like Nike – a multinational corporation which posted a $10.35 billion dollar revenue for the quarter ending February 28th 2021 – bootlegging is nothing more than an annoyance. Most bootlegs, after all, don’t get anything like the kind of traction of a Lil Nas X “Satan Shoe” – they’re shared throughout the sneaker community, in extremely limited quantities, more often than not at what ends up being the expense of the bootlegger themselves.
