Nike sues retailer StockX for sneaker NFTs

On Thursday, sportswear giant Nike sued online retailer StockX in a New York federal court, accusing the shoe resale giant of using its trademark without permission to market and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) at heavily inflated prices to gullible customers, marking the latest lawsuit over digital assets know as NFTs.

In the federal filing, Nike says that by minting “Vault” NFTs based chiefly on popular Nike sneakers, the online reseller was infringing upon, diluting its trademarks, and was likely to confuse consumers. Nike, in the lawsuit, also asked for unspecified money damages and an order to block their sales.

StockX, based in Detroit, is a platform for reselling sneakers, trading cards, handbags, and other goods. The online reseller was valued at more than $3.8 billion last year.

Nike reported that StockX began selling unauthorized NFTs of its sneakers last month. The sneaker giant said that StockX told buyers they could redeem the tokens for physical versions of the shoes in the near future.

NFTs have recently exploded in acceptance, and lawsuits over their usage have begun to hit U.S. courts. Motion picture Studio Miramax sued director Quentin Tarantino in November 2021 over his plans to auction NFTs related to the hit 1994 movie “Pulp Fiction,” which he directed and the studio distributed. In another incident, just last month, French fashion brand Hermes, sued artist Mason Rothschild for his “MetaBirkin” NFTs of the company’s Birkin bags.