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9 April 2021TrademarksAlex Baldwin

Nike and MSCHF settle ‘Satan Shoes’ dispute

Nike and MSCHF have settled a lawsuit over the ‘Satan Shoes’—a pair of customised Nike trainers sold by MSCHF that feature prominent satanic imagery.

The Brooklyn art collective has agreed to launch a voluntary recall of the shoes—as well as their previous customised Nike ‘Jesus Shoes’— and will buy them back for their original retail price.

In a short statement from Nike obtained by Yahoo! Finance, the company claimed that “Both parties are pleased to put this dispute behind them.”

“If any purchasers were confused, or if they otherwise want to return their shoes, they may do so for a full refund. Purchasers who choose not to return their shoes and later encounter a product issue, defect, or health concern should contact MSCHF, not Nike,” the statement reads.

A notice of the settlement has yet to be filed with the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The $1,1018 trainers were revealed last month, made in collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X alongside the release of his music video “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)”.

Based on the Nike Air Max 97s and customised to feature red ink and human blood to the midsole, the “Satan Shoes” carried red embroidered “satanic themed detailing” and a bronze pentagram feature to the laces.

Only 666 of the shoes were manufactured and 665 were sold.

The sportswear company had initially filed a lawsuit against MSCHF on March 29, claiming that MSCHF had developed the shoe without Nike’s approval or authorisation, involving the company unwillingly in the controversy the shoes and music video garnered.

Following the complaint, New York district judge Eric Komitee ordered MSCHF to halt orders of the shoes on April 1, issuing a temporary restraining order, despite all but one of the pairs having already been sold.

The Jesus Shoes were launched in October 2019 and featured holy water in the soles. The customised trainers were also based off of Nike’s Air Max 97s.

‘Absurdity of collaboration’

MSCHF opted for an artistic defense following the order, releasing a statement saying: “We choose a specific medium to engage with a specific subject matter: we will make shoes, stream video, publish books, make paintings and sculpture, build apps or web services– everything is in service to the concept.”

According to a statement sourced by the BBC, Debevoise & Plimpton partner David Bernstein—who represented MSCHF in the case— said that the Brooklyn company had “intended to comment on the absurdity of the collaboration culture practiced by some brands, and about the perniciousness of intolerance."

He added that MSCHF was: "pleased to have resolved the lawsuit".

Speaking to WIPR about the case last week, Julia Matheson, partner at Potomac Law Group, said Lil Nas X’s decision to use Nike shoes was “an attempt to trade upon the fame and commercial value of the Nike brand to capture the widest possible audience for his message and achieve the greatest payoff from the sale of his derivative products.”

“The bottom line is that Nike did what it had to do to preserve the value of its brand and future collaborations.”

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