"StockX +prints+ NFTs that prominently feature Nike's logos, promotes them using the Nike brand, and sells these NFTs at inflated prices to unsuspecting consumers who believe or are likely to believe that these + digital assets+ (as StockX calls them) are endorsed by Nike when they are not," Nike's attorneys say.
The sneaker giant is seeking damages and a court injunction to force StockX to stop these sales.
The American platform offers to buy and resell clothing and technological products, but it is primarily specialized in auctions on sneakers.
Fans can find collector's shoes that trade for up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, like the legendary Air Jordan.
It also now offers "Non-Fungible Token" (NFT), these digital objects whose ownership is traceable.
A search on the site with the keyword NFT, for example, yields an image of "KAWS Sacai Nike Blazer Low Blue (Vault NFT)", to be purchased for a minimum of 500 dollars.
The sell sheet states that NFTs can be resold or traded "for a real pair stored in our vault."
In its complaint, Nike describes NFTs as an "exciting new way for brands to interact with customers in the real world and in the +metaverse+", this parallel universe of augmented and virtual reality, described as the future of the Internet. .
But, "This new horizon has quickly become a playground for counterfeit players (...) who use trademarks without authorization to sell their virtual products and generate ill-gotten profits", adds Nike.
According to the group, StockX has already sold more than 550 Nike-branded NFTs.
The two companies did not immediately respond to requests from AFP.
Last April, StockX was valued at $3.8 billion after raising $255 million.
The platform recorded revenue of $400 million in 2020.
© 2022 AFP