Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard sues Nike
Leonard plays small forward for the Raptors. He's suing to reclaim control over the Klaw logo he says he created.
After the Toronto Raptors play the Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals, Kawhi Leonard may be headed to another kind of court.
Leonard, who plays small forward for the Raptors, filed a lawsuit against Nike to reclaim control over the Klaw logo he says he created, ESPN reports. The logo in question is a traced outline of his hand, featuring his initials and the number 2, which is his jersey number. ”In 2011, just after being drafted to the National Basketball Association, Kawhi Leonard authored a unique logo that included elements that were meaningful and unique to him. … The drawing Leonard authored was an extension and continuation of drawings he had been creating since early in his college career,” the lawsuit reads.
Leonard permitted Nike to use the Klaw logo on some of its merchandise after a sponsorship deal, although he says he never transferred the rights to them and continued to use the logo on non-Nike goods. The lawsuit claims Nike filed an application for copyright registration of his logo without his knowledge or consent, and misrepresented their authorship of the logo on that application.
Leonard’s deal with Nike ended in September 2014. He now has a deal with New Balance, but the lawsuit alleges that Nike and Leonard have gone back and forth over the logo, which Leonard intends to use for clothing lines and in connection with various charities and sports camps. Nike asserted in correspondence that “it owns all intellectual property rights in the Leonard Logo” and he should cease what it claimed was unauthorized use, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit says Leonard should be acknowledged as the sole author of the Klaw logo, and that Nike committed fraud by registering the logo, as well as ”any such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.”
Nike does not comment on pending litigation, the company told CNBC.
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