Nike Suing Former Employee Over Custom Sneakers

Nike continues to clamp down on sneaker customizers unlawfully profiting from its trademarks and intellectual properties with its latest lawsuit.

After suing Customs By Ilene, Inc. this week over alleged infringing custom sneakers, The Fashion Law is now reporting that the sportswear company has filed a complaint against one of its former employees and his company.

According to the complaint that filed in a federal court in Oregon on Monday, Nike and Converse alleged that Jeffrey Waskowiak—a former footwear developer for the Swoosh—and his company KickRich LLC are selling “custom” sneakers that “combine purportedly genuine Nike shoe soles with uppers fabricated entirely by the defendants,” and include “reproductions of Nike’s famous Swoosh design and other protected trade dress,” and selling them for “hundreds or up to several thousand dollars each.”

One of the examples used to support Nike’s claims is a custom pair of Air Jordan 1 Mid “Amazon,” which the brand said falsely affiliates it with the e-commerce giant. Ironically enough, Nike also used an unauthorized Air Jordan 1 “USPS” custom to further back the aforementioned claims which follows a controversy surrounding its own USPS-inspired Air Force 1 Experimental shoe, which wasn’t initially approved by the shipping company.

Similar to its lawsuit against Drip Creationz, Nike is seeking monetary damages as well as injunctive relief to prevent the defendants from further infringing on their marks or damaging its business reputations.