Source: Nike / NIke
The battle over the culture’s most beloved low top is now over. Nike and John Geiger have reached a settlement over the Air Force 1 trademark infringement accusations.
As per Nice Kick the longtime designer has made nice with the global sportswear giant. On Tuesday, August 30 Nike released a statement confirming the two parties have come to a mutual understanding over the sneaker. “Nike and John Geiger have resolved the lawsuit related to Nike’s Air Force 1 trade dress and John Geiger’s footwear products, specifically his GF-01 shoes,” reads the joint statement. “
The lawsuit has been resolved through an amicable resolution that includes a consent judgement. As part of the resolution, John Geiger has agreed to modify the design of his GF-01 shoes. Nike respects John Geiger as a designer and other designers like him, and both parties are pleased to resolve this dispute in a way that allows John Geiger to continue to build his brand while also respecting Nike’s intellectual property rights in its iconic Air Force 1 trade dress.”
This stems from a 2021 lawsuit filed by Nike that claimed Geiger “knowingly and intentionally creates confusion in the marketplace and capitalizes on Nike’s reputation and the reputation”. While John has historically admitted that the Air Force 1 did influence his signature GF-01 model, he made it clear that Nike was getting a lot of their swag from independent designers such as himself. “First and foremost I feel like Nike has been taking inspiration and benefitting off the hard work from myself and a lot of creators within the community over the past 10+ years” he wrote in a social media post.
This is not the first time Nike has gone after other sneaker designers. In March 2021 Nike sued MSCHF for selling “Satan Shoes” that used their popular Air Max 97’s as the base. That lawsuit was also settled out of court.