Nike sues LA streetwear brand Warren Lotas
Nike has issued a lawsuit against Los Angeles-based streetwear brand Warren Lotas for ripping off one of its sneaker designs, Los Angeles Daily News reports. According to the court papers that were filed on Wednesday, Nike is accusing Warren Lotas of promoting and selling a shoe that is “confusingly similar” to the famed "NYC Pigeon" Nike SB Dunk Low designed by Jeff Staple.
“Warren Lotas only recently announced these sneakers, but there is already confusion in the marketplace regarding whether they are legitimate customizations or illegal fakes,” the complaint reads. “Warren Lotas intentionally created the confusion, and he is attempting to capitalize on it, by, among other things, using Nike’s registered Dunk word mark, using Nike’s registered Dunk trade dress, and using a mark that is confusingly similar to Nike’s famous Swoosh design to promote and sell his fakes.”
Warren Lotas recently posted a picture of the shoe in question, labeling it a reinterpretation of the original Pigeon Dunks. "An official reinterpretation of a fucking CLASSIC," the brand said in the Instagram caption, going on to add, "THIS IS A WARREN LOTAS SHOE, IT IS PRODUCED FROM SCRATCH BY ME. PLEASE KNOW THAT. NO ALIBABA BULLSHIT. ITALIAN MATERIALS."
In the post, WL also shouted out the designer of the OG Pigeon Dunks, Jeff Staple, alluding to a collaborative effort between the two, or at the very least, suggesting Staple gave his blessing. Staple himself then promoted the pre-sale of the Warren Lotas sneaker on his own Instagram page.
As you can see by looking at a picture of the original Dunks above and the Warren Lotas variation below, they look almost identical, down to the Swoosh branding and pigeon embroidery. (via Highsnobiety)
