Following its legal saga with designer Warren Lotas last year, Nike and subsidiary brand Converse have filed a lawsuit against close to 600 websites for selling counterfeit sneakers.
In a 130-page suit filed yesterday at the New York District Court, Nike Inc. and Converse Inc. call out a total of 589 sites and other online platforms including their social media accounts for the "unauthorized and unlawful use of their trademarks."
In the documents, the company states that the websites in question are currently, or were within the past twelve months, advertising, offering to sell, and/or selling counterfeit Nike or Converse products to consumers in the United States. The brands argue that the products being sold on the infringing websites are likely causing and have caused consumers to mistakenly believe that they are authentic Nike and/or Converse products. Elsewhere in the filing, Nike and Converse pinpoint the sites as currently being operated in the People's Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and other foreign jurisdictions.
Nike is now asking that the offending parties be prevented from selling counterfeit products or any other items that are "confusingly similar" to those manufactured by Nike and Converse. It's also seeking statutory damages of $100,000 per infringing domain, of which a total of 133 are listed—that's $133,000,000 in total compensation.
Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment.