It did not end well for Brooklyn art collective, MSCHF, after American multinational corporation Nike won the lawsuit over the controversial 'Satan Shoes'. The art collective claims that each comes with a drop of human blood donated by members of the MSCHF art collective.
The company said, “MSCHF and its unauthorised Satan Shoes are likely to cause confusion and dilution and create an erroneous association between MSCHF's products and Nike.” However, MSCHF’s lawyers argued that their client had no plans to produce more than 666 pairs of the shoe.
For the brand, the major concern is that people will start associating Nike with satanic-inspired shoes. This will damage the brand image. The company was seeking a refraining order stopping the promotion of the shoes.
In its filing with the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Nike stated that it did not approve or authorise the customised Satan Shoes.
Meanwhile, Twitter users took to the microblogging site to question the brand on the way they function. The same art collective sells Nike Shoes with brand Jesus but the company never filed a lawsuit but now it has on Satan Shoes over the fear of backlash.
Jesus shoe is a customised Nike Air Max 97 that captures the miracle of Jesus walking on water. The pair have been filled with 60cc of water that was originally sourced from the River Jordan, claimed the company. It has then be blessed to create a feeling of walking in Holy Water.
The modified shoes cost around $1,018 (Rs 74, 607) and are basically Nike Air Max 97s which come with an inverted cross, a pentagram and a verse from Luke’s chapter from the bible; and not forget 60 cubic centimetres (2.03 fluid ounces) of red ink and a single drop of human blood.
MSCHF, which produced the shoes in collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X, claimed to have only 666 pairs made. 666 is one of the most widely recognised symbols for the Antichrist or the devil.
Nike had filed for a trademark infringement lawsuit. The company had asked a federal court in New York to stop MSCHF from selling the shoes and prevent them from using its famous Swoosh.
Meanwhile, the company has not named Lil Nas X as a defendant, who was seen promoting the shoes.
MSCHF released the shoes on Monday, coinciding with the launch of Lil Nas X's latest song Montero (Call Me By Your Name), which debuted on YouTube last Friday.
