Adidas and Nike, two of the most well-known sports brands, have recently "torn" up.
On Monday, Nike asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to block imports of a number of Adidas sneakers, including a joint collection with Stella McCartney and Pharrel Williams.
Nike believes the German sports manufacturer has infringed on its Flyknit flying wire design technology.
In its complaint filed on December 8, Nike said Adidas had 49 shoes that used PrimeKnit technology, which infringed six of Nike's patents. In response, according to Reuters, an Adidas spokesperson was quoted as saying that the company is analyzing the complaint and will defend Adidas against these allegations, and stressed that Primeknit technology originates from years of research.
Nike sued Adi for patent infringement
According to Beijing Business Daily, according to Nike, Flyknit Flying Wire Technology, launched in 2012, is an innovative upper manufacturing process that "can perform well in performance, design, and aesthetic sense while reducing material and waste." ”
Five months after Nike released Flyknit, Adidas launched Primeknit. Both brands use knitting techniques extensively in their product lines, such as Nike's running shoes, basketball shoes, football shoes, etc., including basketball star LeBron James and football star C Ronaldo's signature shoes.
Image source: Screenshot of Adidas official website
The Adidas shoes that were considered infringing covered casual shoes, football shoes, running shoes, and hiking shoes, involving ultraboost, Terrex, X Speedflow and other product lines.
In this knitting process, Adidas and Nike are not the first time to "pinch the frame". According to foreign media reports, in 2020, Adidas also tried to sue Nike for invalidating two patents in the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, believing that Nike copied Primeknit technology, but failed. Nike said the Flyknit technology is the result of its $100 million research and development.
In the more than $58 billion sneaker market, the intellectual property war between big names has escalated in recent years. In 2018, Nike also sued german sports brand PUMA for infringing its Flyknit patent, and the two sides finally reached a settlement in January 2020. In November 2021, Nike reached a settlement with U.S. brand Skechers over three patent lawsuits, accusing Skechers of incorporating Nike's patented design elements into its sneakers. The five-year-long court dispute has finally come to an end.
Sports goods are not easy to sell, and the two giants layout metacosmity
In September this year, Nike's latest financial report showed that revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 increased by 16% year-on-year to $12.2 billion. In November, Adidas reported fiscal third quarter 2021 with revenue of $6.6 billion, up only 3.4% year-on-year, while operating profit fell 8.5% year-on-year.
Nike's revenue in the Chinese market in the fiscal first quarter recorded an increase of only 11% to $1.98 billion. Adidas revenue in Greater China fell 15% in the third quarter of fiscal 2021.
Nike and Adidas, which fought in court, "shared suffering" on another level, and the supply chain was jointly affected by the shutdown of the Vietnamese factory, and several performance data were lower than analysts expected.
According to the Beijing News, last year, Nike cooperated with luxury brand Dior to launch the Air Jordan 1 OG Dior co-brand, and the price was once speculated to 75,000 yuan to 130,000 yuan. In the early years, Nike cooperated with the fashion brand Off-White to launch the "The Ten" series of sneakers, which were all the rage, and recently with the death of the principal Virgil Abloh, they were even more hyped to "sky-high prices". Recently, Nike created a virtual world called "Nikeland" on the game platform Roblox, becoming one of the first sports brands to enter the "metaverse".
"Old rival" Adidas is naturally not far behind, in addition to the same hand in hand with luxury brands Chanel, Prada and the well-known singer Pharrell Williams launched a joint model, but also with the national game "Glory of the King" to launch a joint model. The joint model launched by Adidas on the 80th anniversary of Marvel's establishment has aroused the pursuit of Marvel fans around the world. In addition, Adidas is committed to sustainability, announcing that by 2021, 60% of the brand's products are made from sustainable materials, including recyclable polyester and sustainable cotton.
However, Nike has also had many troubles recently. Nike is facing the worst design brain drain in history, with several senior design directors leaving in November, including Sergio Lozano, who joined Nike in 1990 and designed the Air Max 95, and Nate Jobe, senior shoe design director who partnered with Off-White's late founder Virgil Abloh to create the "The Ten" series.
In recent years, with the metaverse concept on fire, Nike and Adi are also speeding up the layout and want to share a piece of the pie.
In September, Nike launched "Nike World" for the first time in the metaverse by partnering with video game platform Roblox.
Since October, Nike has filed seven more applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect its trademarks in "downloadable virtual goods" and related services.
Recently, Nike announced the acquisition of virtual collectibles company RTFKT, which was founded in 2020, mainly produces digital products such as sneakers and uses blockchain technology to ensure authenticity.
Nike CEO John Donahow said the acquisition is another step in Nike's accelerated digital transformation. "Our plan is to invest in the RTFKT brand, serve and grow their community of innovation and creativity, and expand Nike's digital footprint and capabilities."
Adidas is also actively deepening, not only its brand adidas Originals entered the metacosm and issued POP NFT, but also recently reached cooperation with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and meta-universe game platform The Sandbox to establish a meta-universe brand.
Editor| Sun Zhicheng yi qijiang
Proofreading | Cheng Peng
Daily Economic News Integrated Beijing Business Daily, Beijing News, China Fund News
The Delta strain is still in the global pandemic, and the Olmikron strain is adding fuel to the fire,