Nike Sued for Allegedly Using Unlicensed Fonts in Advertising & Marketing
Nike is facing a new lawsuit from Production Systems SAS, which conducts business under the trade name Production Type, for allegedly using unlicensed fonts in its advertising and marketing campaigns.
According to a new lawsuit filed by Production Type in a New York federal court on Monday, Nike allegedly used the French company’s copyrighted “Kreuz” font software without authorization, causing the design business to lose substantial revenue.
In the complaint, Production Type claims that Nike purchased only two single user desktop licenses and one single title audio-visual license for the “Kreuz Condensed Light” font on Dec. 12, 2019.
The company also claimed that its records indicate that Nike further downloaded and used trial versions of its copyrighted “Kreuz Condensed Regular,” “Kreuz Condensed Medium,” “Kreuz Medium” and “Kreuz Extended Light” font software.
According to Production Type, its trial licenses, which it claims Nike purchased, “expressly prohibits” the use of its font software in “production work and exploitation and live use, whether commercial or not.”
Therefore, Production Type is claiming Nike infringed on its software by allegedly using unauthorized copies of the font software on audio-visual content for its YouTube channel, as well as its website, store displays and third-party promotional content. This has caused Production Type to lose “substantial revenue,” the complaint added.
Now, Production Type is seeking no less than $150,000 in damages from Nike ,together with prejudgment interest and reasonable costs and fees or statutory damages under copyright law.
This new litigation follows a countersuit against Nike, also filed on Monday, where design firm By Kiy LLC is pushing back on the Swoosh’s December trademark infringement claim.
In the countersuit, By Kiy said its shoe designs in question are “a different type of product than the athletic shoes Nike sells” and that its lightning bolt design in the center looks nothing like Nike’s “Swoosh.” The countersuit also argued that By Kiy sells in different channels and at a different price point than Nike.
By Kiy is looking for a judge to rule that Nike’s claims for trademark infringement are invalid and unenforceable.
