7-Eleven sues Nike Inc. for trademark infringement over the sportswear company’s plans to release sneakers in the convenience store chain’s signature colors.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the Northern District of Texas, where 7-Eleven is based, claims that the new Nike Air Max 95 Big Bubble “Sport Green and Safety Orange” style infringes on the store’s three-color trademarks. The shoe was supposed to release on July 11, the same day the chain will host 7-Eleven Day and Free Slurpee Day, but it has no official affiliation with the retailer.
The alleged violation involves the color scheme of the side stripe of the Air Max 95, which features a combination of red, green and orange, comparable to the 7-Eleven branding layout.
“Nike’s infringement is a deliberate and willful attempt to associate its shoes with 7-Eleven by copying or simulating the tri-color mark,” the lawsuit states. “Nike’s deceptive practices and misappropriation of 7-Eleven’s tri-color mark are likely to cause—and have already caused—confusion among the public and are likely to mislead consumers as to the source, sponsorship, endorsement, or ownership of the infringing shoes.”
The retail chain says it tried to resolve the matter with Nike “repeatedly” before filing the lawsuit.
Nike Air Max 95 Big Bubble Sport Green and Safety Orange.
Nike
“Nike has demonstrated a callous and malicious disregard for the rights of 7-Eleven,” the lawsuit states. “Thus, Nike acted in bad faith, with malice, and in willful disregard of 7-Eleven’s rights.”
In addition to the color similarity and July 11 release date, Nike added other hints to the retailer, including an image of store shelves on the insole and mention of a “walk to the corner store” in the official product description.
Although the planned Air Max 95 sneaker was not an official collaboration, the two companies planned to work together on a licensed shoe back in 2020. The 7-Eleven x Nike SB Dunk Low was scheduled to release for this year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but was ultimately canceled after the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canceled 7-Eleven x Nike SB Dunk Low collaboration for 2020.
7-Eleven is now asking the court to stop Nike from “distributing, advertising or selling” the shoes, awarding the retail chain monetary damages and costs and attorneys’ fees. He also demands that the Air Max 95 sneakers be destroyed along with all advertising and marketing materials.
Nike did not respond to a request for comment.
At the time of publication, the Nike Air Max 95 Big Bubble is no longer advertised on the Nike Snkrs app. The lawsuit immediately affected the price of shoes on the secondary market: after this news broke, prices more than doubled.