Federal judge ends Toronto Raptors star's copyright suit against Nike
Kawhi Leonard filed a lawsuit in 2019 against Nike to reclaim control over the Klaw logo he says he created.
A federal judge in Oregon has decided that basketball player Kawhi Leonard’s copyright claim against Nike will not go forward.
In June 2019, the Toronto Raptors star filed a lawsuit against Nike to reclaim control over the Klaw logo he says he created. The logo in question was a traced outline of his hand, featuring his initials and the number 2, which was his jersey number. Leonard permitted Nike to use the Klaw logo on some of its merchandise after a sponsorship deal, although the suit claimed he never transferred the rights to them and continued to use the logo on non-Nike goods.
The lawsuit alleged Nike filed an application for copyright registration of Leonard’s logo without his knowledge or consent and misrepresented their authorship of the logo on that application.
In a countersuit, Nike argued that Leonard forwarded a “rough draft” sketch of the design featuring the hand and the jersey number, but had approved one of the proposed designs Nike created in June 2014 as part of his contract. Nike claimed it held the exclusive rights to that claw logo, which it said was produced by its “talented team of designers.’’
Mitchell C. Stein of Sullivan & Worcester LLP, one of Leonard’s attorneys, asked the judge to view both designs as “one and the same,” according to The Oregonian.
“The KL, the No. 2 and the hand as expressed by Mr. Leonard in his sketch and as modified is the protectable element that appears in the Nike Klaw,” Stein argued.
Nike attorney Tamar Duvdevani of DLA Piper asserted there were several differences between the sketch and the final agreed-upon logo. ”Authorship is more than mere directions and ideas,” he said. ”It’s clear here it was Nike’s designers who put pen to paper to fix the work in a tangible medium of expression.”
U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman sided with Nike, saying the final design was an “independent piece of intellectual property’’ from Leonard’s original sketch. He granted Nike’s motion for a judgment on the pleadings and dismissed the case with prejudice.
Sullivan & Worcester attorney Peter R. Ginsberg, who also represents Leonard, was disappointed with the decision. ”We’re considering our options to protect Kawhi’s interests,” he said.
Both lawsuits were originally filed in southern California, but a judge granted Nike’s request to move the litigation to Oregon.
If Nike loses the case, it is likely to have insurance against the copyright infringement claim under its commercial general liability policy.
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