When news broke last week that Nike had secured a trademark for its iconic Air Jordan 1, a sneaker from 1985 that the brand regularly releases in retro form, it was viewed by many as a death knell for the wave of bootlegs borrowing the shoe’s silhouette. But a petition to the United States Patent and Trademark Office submitted on Sunday shows that designers seeking to make their own Jordan-esque sneakers are not necessarily going down without a fight.

In the filing, New York City-based Robert Lopez accuses Nike of fraud, saying that it submitted false statements to the USPTO and that its trademark for the Jordan 1 that was granted on June 1 was hence “improperly issued.” Lopez is the founder of RGL Consulting Group, a firm that, per its website, has “assisted independent brands and small business owners in successfully enforcing their brand ownership rights against corporate giants.”

The trademark Nike secured this month protects the overall composition of the Air Jordan 1, along with the Air Jordan 1 Low and Air Jordan 1 Low SE variations, under trade dress, which pertains specifically to the physical appearance of a product. It arrives amid a trend of smaller designers releasing their own versions of the Air Jordan 1 that essentially copy the model but replace its Nike and Jordan Brand imagery and wordmarks with new logos. Crucially, Nike’s new trademark can help the company defend its intellectual property and go after similar shoes even if they do not use its logos.

The trade dress for Nike’s Dunk sneaker, a style similar to the Air Jordan 1, was pivotal in the brand’s legal battle last year against independent designer Warren Lotas, who sold Dunk lookalikes.

（Source：www.complex.com）