Last month, Then-Toronto Raptors superstar Kawhi Leonard filed a lawsuit against Nike claiming he designed the logo that appeared on his Nike apparel, but the company copyrighted it without his consent.
Leonard claimed he created the logo after he was drafted to the NBA in 2011.
“Leonard traced his notably large hand,” the lawsuit states, “and, inside the hand, drew stylized versions of his initials ‘KL’ and the number that he had worn for much of his career, ‘2.’”
It took over a month but Nike has finally responded by counter-suing the now-Los Angeles Clippers superstar for copyright infringement, fraud and breach of contract.
The Blast has the details:
“According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Nike is demanding Leonard’s lawsuit against them be dismissed. The company then counter-sued Leonard for using a design they claim to own.
In their response to his lawsuit, they deny all allegations of wrongdoing against Leonard.
Nike filed counter-claims against Leonard in the case. They explain Leonard signed a deal with them in 2011, which expired in September 2018.
During their partnership, Leonard provided them with designs to use on merchandise. They claim to have used one he gave them and sold products he promoted with it. They claim all designs worked on during the contract are owned by them. Further, they claim the Nike team was the one who created the final design used.
Once their deal ended, Nike says they found out about Leonard using the design he gave them on other non-Nike products. They told him that was a breach of their deal but he refused to cease.
They claim he then sued them during the NBA finals and even started hawking the design on clothes during the finals without their permission. Nike is demanding Leonard’s lawsuit against them be dismissed and the court grant a permanent injunction against him from using the design.”
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The footwear and apparel giant provided an example of the differences:
Nike also wants to collect damages from Leonard but the exact figure hasn’t been made public yet.
