Nike Sues Online Reseller StockX for Trademark Infringement

NFT marketplace activity has surged at the turn of the year, with trading volumes hitting record highs. While volumes have surged, however, news of illegal activity across the NFT space has also drawn attention.

Illicit Activity in the NFT Marketplace Is on the Rise

Earlier this week, news hit the wires of NFT marketplace HitPiece selling NFTs without the knowledge of the artists. More significantly, HitPiece also reportedly created NFTs of music without the consent of artists. HitPiece is an NFT marketplace designed to be “the place for music NFTs online”. Artists would receive royalties from the initial sales of NFTs and also from ongoing trading of the NFTs.

The news followed a number of exploits that have hit leading NFT marketplace OpenSea in recent month. Early in the week, news had hit the wires of a sharp increase in scams and thefts on the NFT marketplace. For the NFT marketplace, the rise in the number of scams and bad actors has raised concerns amongst lawmakers amidst surging trading volumes.

NIKE Sues StockX

Overnight, news hit the wires of Nike suing online reseller StockX for trademark infringement. StockX has reportedly been selling Nike sneaker NFTs since January. The sneaker collection on sale is called “The Vault”. At the time of writing, there were 8 Nike Vault NFTs on sale and 1 Adidas NFT.

Within the lawsuit, Nike reportedly claimed that StockX has sold more than 500 Nike-branded NFTs that will have also confused customers. The lawsuit goes further by reportedly stating that complaints about “inflated prices and unclear terms of purchase and ownership and buyers’ doubts about the legitimacy of StockX’s model has impacted Nike’s business reputation”. Late last year, Nike bought virtual sneaker maker RTFKT in a bid to expand its footprint into the Metaverse.

The Nike lawsuit isn’t the first and will unlikely be the last as the NFT market grows.