This week, Toronto Raptors star Kawhi Leonard filed a lawsuit against Nike in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. In his suit, Leonard claims that Nike applied for copyright registration of a logo he created.
According to this lawsuit, Leonard created his “Klaw” logo in 2011 after being drafted by the NBA. As a player, Leonard’s known for his big hands, so, when creating his logo, he traced his iconic hand and then drew his initials, “KL” and the number two – the number he’s worn for most of his career – inside of it. A few years later, when working on an endorsement deal, Leonard allowed Nike to use his logo while he kept using it on his own.
This is where it gets interesting – unbeknown to Leonard, Nike filed for copyright protection and claimed that they invented the “Klaw.” When Leonard continued to use the logo on his own, Nike sent him a cease and desist letter claiming they own the intellectual property rights. You read that right – Nike tried to make this NBA star legally stop using his own logo.
Now, Leonard is suing Nike so that he can be declared the lawful owner of his logo. It seems crazy, doesn’t it? But these are the kinds of things that can happen when you don’t work with a copyright law firm when using your intellectual property for yourself or with another brand.
In his lawsuit, Leonard also alleges that Nike committed fraud by filing their application with the Copyright Office. While this may be true, it’s for the courts to decide. This could have been avoided if Leonard had found a copyright lawyer to help him fill out an application and file it correctly. Then, Nike wouldn’t have any rights to use his logo, other than what was listed in their contract. Instead, he’s now facing a legal battle against one of sport’s biggest brand.
Have you ever created something that you loved enough to make your personal logo? If you did, did you do anything to protect it? Probably not. If that’s the case, you won’t have a legal recourse if someone else starts using your intellectual property for profit. Don’t let that happen. Contact us today at the Social Media Law Firm instead. As copyright lawyers, we’ll take you through the copyright application and make sure your creative property is protected. Then, if anyone else starts using it, it can be you sending the cease and desist letter.
