Nike is continuing its crackdown on brands that counterfeit their good by borrowing their core essence and customizing them by issuing a $60 million lawsuit against ‘the Shoe Doctor,’ a regular collaborator with the brand that has customized various pairs of sneakers for LeBron James.
Here it is!!!! Nike Inc. v. S2, Inc. dab THE SHOE SURGEON pic.twitter.com/WdRjcJTA15
— Sneaker & Streetwear Legal Services℠ (@SneakerLegal) July 15, 2024
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. It accuses the founder and CEO of The Shoe Surgeon, Dominic Ciambrone, of “egregious” trademark infringement and counterfeiting. Nike claims their products are being counterfeited by Ciambrone and sales of the same online and in-store are illegal.
There are more reasons behind Nike’s legal action, including The Shoe Surgeon signing independent brand deals with others and then using their counterfeited Nike shoes in those projects. They also allegedly offer online classes that teach participants how to create their own counterfeit Nike footwear.
It doesn’t seem like any of what The Shoe Doctor does is intentionally malicious against Nike, as there’s a strong market of custom sneakers that brands like Nike themselves can’t fulfill. However, ‘The Shoe Doctor’ is a multi-million dollar business built off Nike’s shoes, so it looks like the massive athleisure brand is coming for their cut.
Nike’s full statement on the matter lists the aforementioned reasons and acknowledges their long history of collaborating with The Shoe Doctor themselves as well. The defendant has made multiple custom sneakers for Nike athlete LeBron James over the years, including a viral 2018 shoe that was made of solid gold.
The Shoe Doctor has made a statement regarding the lawsuit.
“It’s a dream to collaborate with legendary brands. Especially with the brand who tells us to believe in something. Who tells us it’s only crazy until we do it. Tells us the best is yet to come. Tells us to be better. To just do it. We are confused Nike has chosen litigation over a discussion, but we are confident with proper dialogue and collaboration we can resolve this with the new management team and turn it into a win for the culture. Creating defines us. Our pursuit of greatness is the soul of every creation and authenticity is stitched into our DNA. Where there is unity, there is victory.”
Nike recently issued lawsuits against other counterfeiters who build million-dollar businesses like BAPE, Warren Lotas, John Geiger, and more.
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