Audio By Carbonatix
Nike has won a bid to temporarily stop a company selling a customised version of its Air Max trainers dubbed "Satan shoes".
The Air Max 97s were given a controversial spin by art brand MSCHF and produced in collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X.
They featured a pentagram design and each shoe was said to contain a drop of human blood in the sole.
Biblical passage Luke 10:18 - about Satan's fall from heaven - also features on the shoe.
Nike sued over copyright infringement because the black and red trainers feature its famous "swoosh" logo. It said the shoe created "an erroneous association between MSCHF's products and Nike".
MSCHF x Lil Nas X "Satan Shoes" 🏹
— SAINT (@saint) March 26, 2021
👟Nike Air Max '97
🩸Contains 60cc ink and 1 drop of human blood
🗡️666 Pairs, individually numbered
💰$1,018
🗓️March 29th, 2021 pic.twitter.com/XUMA9TKGSX
A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, agreed on Thursday that the shoes breached the company's trademark.
MSCHF said it "strongly believes in the freedom of expression" and hoped to work with Nike and the court to resolve the matter.
Its lawyers had argued the trainers were "not typical sneakers, but rather individually-numbered works of art", and followed its "Jesus Shoes" based on the same Air Max model in 2019.
Nike's lawyers said "even 'sneakerheads' were actually confused by MSCHF's shoes" and that the company had a history of selling shoes faster than courts could stop them.
The entire stock of 666 pairs has already sold out - despite costing $1,018 (£735).
MSCHF said the restraining order was unnecessary as they did not plan to make any more.
Old Town Road star Lil Nas X was set to pick who got the 666th pair but that plan was scrapped when Nike decided to sue on Monday.
The rapper has tweeted a series of memes mocking the lawsuit.
Latest Stories
-
English football’s independent regulator would quit over Man City interference
18 minutes -
Anthropic seeks rehearing of case over Pentagon’s security risk branding
29 minutes -
NDC Deputy National Organizer Aspirant Hamza Umar targets grassroots mobilisation
1 hour -
Partisan appointment cycle will persist without meaningful reforms – Osae-Kwapong
2 hours -
‘This cycle is not going to be broken any soon’ – Osae-Kwapong on partisan appointments
3 hours -
Partisan appointments won’t help restore trust in EC – Osae-Kwapong
3 hours -
Villarreal fight back to beat Napoli and end losing run
3 hours -
Tresoldi nets hat-trick as Club Brugge win Inter thriller
3 hours -
PSG’s Luis Enrique hopes Man City avoid sanctions
4 hours -
Lisandro Martinez issues scathing attack on Man Utd board – has he made things worse?
4 hours -
Saka responds to Arteta’s challenge with ‘huge impact’
4 hours -
Viking hold Bayern in thriller as Kane breaks Messi record
4 hours -
Gordon scores as Barcelona beats Galatasaray
4 hours -
Bumble bought for $1.3bn in ‘bet on the future of humanity’
4 hours -
Imagination Africa, Mentors Chess Academy to host second African Genius Chess Championship at Ghud Park
4 hours