Dive Brief:
- The years-long legal battle between Nike and resale platform StockX over counterfeits will head to trial later this year, according to court documents filed last week.
- A federal judge granted part of Nike’s motion for a partial summary judgment in the lawsuit, which has been ongoing since 2022. The athleticwear giant accused the resale company of counterfeiting and insidious false advertising, but the judge dismissed allegations of false advertising, per a release from StockX.
- The companies have until Friday to file a joint letter indicating how long they expect the trial to take and the companies’ availability between June 15 and November 15.
Dive Insight:
Nike initially called for a partial summary judgment in the case last year, meaning it asked the judge to rule on some of its claims before the trial. That request came after Nike said it discovered at least 77 pairs of counterfeit Nike shoes sold on StockX. In response to that motion, StockX said it stood by its authentication process and that Nike’s claims were misguided.
In last week’s filings, Nike’s request was granted in part as it looks to hold StockX liable for distributing four pairs of counterfeit shoes to Nike investigators and selling 33 pairs of counterfeit shoes to one individual named Roy Kim.
“Verification has been core to StockX since our inception — we’ve invested millions of dollars in technology, training, and tooling, and we stand behind every product sold on StockX with our Buyer Promise,” StockX said in its release on the judgment. “In this case and on an ongoing basis with all our customers, we offer refunds or replacements if someone receives an incorrect product.”
StockX said the products referenced in the request for partial summary judgment amounted to “0.0004% of the 17.8 million Nike sneakers reviewed while this litigation was ongoing.” Nike was the top-selling brand on StockX’s platform during the last three years.
“As we’ve said before, it’s a shame that rather than work with us to fight fakes, Nike has instead opted to use its resources to pursue meritless, expensive litigation,” StockX said in the release. “We look forward to the opportunity to tell our story to a jury at trial.”
The lawsuit has evolved since it was first filed.
Nike initially sued the resale platform for allegedly using Nike trademarks in non-fungible tokens (or NFTs). Counterfeiting and false advertising claims were added to the lawsuit a few months later, after Nike obtained the four pairs of counterfeit shoes referenced in last week’s filing.
Similar to another ongoing legal challenge between Chanel and What Goes Around Comes Around, the results of the Nike and StockX dispute could have implications for resellers that use and promote authentication systems.
