2/2 © Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Nike swoosh logo is seen outside the store on 5th Ave in New York 2/2
By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal judge sided with Nike Inc (NYSE 🙂 in ordering a Brooklyn company to temporarily halt sales of “Satan Shoes” it produced in collaboration with rapper Lil Nas XUS , District Judge Eric. Komitee in Brooklyn ruled three days after Nike sued MSCHF Product Studio Inc, alleging that the black and red devil-themed sneakers, which bear Nike’s “swoosh” logo, infringed on its trademarks. The sneakers are custom versions of the Nike Air Max 97 sneakers that purport to contain a drop of human blood on the midsoles and are imprinted with “Luke 10:18,” a biblical passage referring to Satan’s fall from heaven. Only 666 pairs were made, at a cost of $ 1,018 each. Lil Nas X, known for the song “Old Town Road,” was planning to select who gets the pair 666, but that plan was shelved following the lawsuit filed by Nike on Monday. He is not a defendant in the case. Attorneys for Nike and MSCHF did not immediately comment or respond to requests for comment. MSCHF’s lawyers said that Satan Shoes “were not typical sneakers, but individually numbered works of art,” following the company’s “Jesus Shoes” based on the same Nike model in 2019. They said a temporary restraining order it was unnecessary because shoe buyers I don’t think Nike was involved, and all but the 666 pair had already been sold and no more were being made. Nike’s lawyers, by contrast, said that “even the ‘sneakerheads’ were really confused by MSCHF’s shoes,” and MSCHF had a “history” of shipping infringing shoes faster than the courts could stop it. Lil Nas X released a devil-themed video last month for his song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).”
