NBA player, Kawhi Leonard VS Nike, Logo copyright lawsuit

  NBA player Kawhi Leonard,

Kawhi Leonard (hereafter Leonard), an NBA player who started his professional career in 2011 was spotlighted for his outstanding physical and defense skills when he joined the San Antonio Spurs,. He led the Toronto Raptors to victory for the first time in the team's history in the NBA Finals Series 2018 and also won the MVP. Since then, he moved to the Los Angeles Clippers and is considered one of the best players in the NBA.

🔺 flickr.com © Ebocdujt7

   Sponsorship agreement with Nike, making his own logo,

Leonard signed a sponsorship contract with Nike in 2011, when he made his debut in the pro. At the time of signing, Leonard worked with Nike to create a logo that embodied the trademark abbreviations ‘K’ and ‘L’ for his big hands and names, and allowed the logo to be used in products manufactured by Nike. In 2017, Leonard announced that he would make clothing and shoes with his own logo and sell them in a charity project to support youth basketball players. Nike objected to this by claiming that Nike has the copyright of the logo.

🔺 oregonlive.com
<Leonard's sketch and Nike's logo> 

  Copyright lawsuits against Nike,

Leonard filed a copyright lawsuit last year, saying he had only allowed Nike to use the logo, and had not transferred the copyright. He submitted texts, emails, etc. that he exchanged with Nike as evidence of the complaint in 9 pages.

🔺 nbkorea.com
< Leonard's basketball shoe of New Balance >

   Nike's counterclaim,

Nike also sued Leonard. Nike shaped the design draft that Leonard delivered in 2011 into several proposals, and claimed that the final design was different from that of Leonard. In addition, although Leonard recognized that the logo was copyrighted by Nike, it was also used for clothing outside of Nike, which is an obvious contract violation.

🔺 intomark.com (trademark database of WIPS Co.,Ltd)
< Leonard's trademark >

  Court judgment?

When comparing Leonard's sketch with Nike's logo, it is expected that it would be very difficult to judge what’s similar and what’s different. Recently, the court raised the hand of Nike, saying that the logo that Leonard sketched and proposed was different from Nike's design. With the court ruling, it seems that Leonard can no longer claim ownership of the logo. Apart from that, Leonard, as in the photo above, has the trademark rights on the logo. Following the copyright ruling, it is questionable whether Leonard's trademark can be used. After the deal with Nike, Kawhi Leonard signed New Balance's new sponsorship contract. The focus is now on what he will do in the future.