Nike, Inc. v. “Just Did It” EnterprisesSeventh Circuit Court of Appeals

6 F.3d 1225 (7th Cir. 1993)

Key Search Terms: trademark, infringement, parody, symbol, NIKE

FactsMike Stanard, defendant and owner/creator of “Just Did It” Enterprises, sells t-shirts, shorts, and sweatshirts with the name “Mike” and a swoosh logo born on the clothing. Stanard made “Mike” as a take-off parody of Nike selling his apparel to the public as well as sending brochures to college athletes and celebrities named Mike. Nike and the swoosh design is a registered trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. “Just Do It” on the other hand, is not a registered trademark but because of its inherent distinctiveness it is entitled to trademark protection under the common law. Nike has brought suit against Stanard for trademark infringement.

IssueWould Stanard’s swoosh and logo of “Mike” would be likely to confuse customers into buying the products with the belief that they were Nike brand and thus violated Nike’s trademark?

HoldingThe Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded the District Court’s finding of summary judgment for Nike for further proceedings because of a factual dispute regarding the likelihood of the Mike trademark confusing customers. The Seventh Circuit discussed numerous factors to aid its decision including: similarity of trademarks, similarity of products and uses, marketing channels, consumer care, trademark strength, actual confusion, intent of parodists, and other trademark cases. Based on the foregoing analysis and the finding that potential confusion could be established when all of the facts are presented to the jury, the Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

Summarized by: Erika Nelson