Famous NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick filed a trademark application for ‘’Believe in Something, Even if it Means Sacrificing Everything’’ which is his statement in the advertisement of Nike’s ‘’Just Do It’’ campaign; even though the statement has been used in the advertisement by Nike firstly. Nike's reaction for this trademark application is being wondered.
As it is remembered, after the announcement of the name Colin Kaepernick, which Nike reached an agreement for its advertisements, Nike met with many reactions and people called for boycott in America.
In contrast, recently famous NBA player Kawhi Leonard (Toronto Raptors) sued Nike on the grounds that Nike had applied for copyright for his logo which has been created by him (Kawhi Leonard v. Nike, Inc. 3: 19-cv-01035 (SDCal)). Kawhi claims that the idea to create the logo was revealed during college years, and the logo he created would have to be unique and meaningful for himself, so that Kawhi, famous for his large hands, created a logo (‘Klaw’ logo) with a 'K' which is the first letter of his name and a '2' which is his jersey number. Nike's response to the allegations is a matter of curiosity.
As it will be remembered, Kawhi Leonard, whose sponsorship agreement ended with Nike, signed a sponsorship agreement with New Balance, one of Nike's biggest competitors.
While Nike is a potential plaintiff on one side and a defendant on other side, Nike’s actions in both cases are curious. We will be following these developments.