Kawhi Leonard sues Nike over ‘false copyright’ registration
An American basketball player has accused Nike of defrauding the US Copyright Office, alleging that the shoemaker made false claims about the authorship of a logo.
In the complaint, filed yesterday, June 3, at the US District Court for the Southern District of California, Kawhi Leonard said Nike had been granted copyright registration for a logo he created, without his consent.
Leonard, who currently plays for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association, said he first designed his logo, which “included elements that were meaningful and unique to him”, in 2011.
The logo was designed around Leonard’s hands, which had become well known for their large size.
“Leonard traced his notably large hand, and, inside the hand, drew stylized versions of his initials ‘KL’ and the number he had worn for much of his career, ‘2’’,” the complaint said.
Several years later, in 2014, Leonard granted Nike permission to use the logo on its merchandise during a brand endorsement agreement between the player and Nike.
According to the complaint, Leonard retained all rights to the logo and continued to use the logo on non-Nike goods.
Leonard said Nike was aware of this. In evidence filed alongside the complaint, email communication between the brand and the basketball player shows the brand referring to the logo as “Kawhi’s logo”.
But, in May 2017, “unbeknownst to Leonard and without his consent”, Nike filed an application for copyright registration of the logo. Leonard said Nike “falsely represented in the application that Nike had authored the logo”. The registration was granted the same year.
In his complaint, Leonard asked the court to strip Nike of its registration, stating that he intends to use the logo on clothing lines, footwear and other products not associated with Nike.
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