Nike's been a regular in the halls of justice for decades.
In recent months, Nike's presence in courtrooms has become more visible, with headline-grabbing lawsuits against Lululemon, Bape, StockX, Warren Lotas, Kool Kiy, and others.
The burst of litigation isn't unexpected. As sportswear becomes more high-tech, companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars developing the next big thing, including next-generation fabrics and e-commerce tools. And now that Nike's got a massive portfolio of intellectual property, it's aggressively going to court to protect its assets – including some of its most iconic sneaker silhouettes – and it's targeting the sellers of the counterfeit sneakers now proliferating across e-commerce platforms.
Nike did not respond to an Insider email requesting comment for this story. The company typically does not comment on pending litigation.
For years, Nike's been a patent machine.
More than a decade ago, Nike started an aggressive patent push during which its annual patent haul exceeded those of some technology giants, including Yahoo and AT&T. Several of the lawsuits now before a judge relate to Nike's enforcement of those patents, including interactive fitness technology.
Nike's also increasingly arguing for "trade dress" protection for some of its most iconic designs, a legal argument that's yet to be tested in a courtroom, but which recently sparked fiery responses from some of Nike's legal opponents.
While trademarks protect words and phrases like "Nike" and "Just do it," trade dress protects silhouettes and appearances, like the outline of a Coca-Cola bottle or the shape of an iPhone.
Nike registered trade dress protection for 18 of its sneakers since 2019, including the Air Force 1, Air Jordan 1, and Dunk, according to an Insider review of US Patent and Trademark office filings. The company has another four applications pending,
Here's a rundown of some of the company's most recent lawsuits, starting with the most recent.