The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 231 — 👊The heavyweights are back at it again
Nike vs. Adidas is coming to the courtroom. Again.
Goooood morning, family. Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thank you so much for rocking with me this morning.
Housekeeping: No newsletter next Monday — my bachelor party is next weekend. Hopefully, I make it out with no hangover. But just in case, ya know?
With that out the way, let’s dig in.
Adidas is bringing up old stuff with Nike
Today in Friday news dump news you probably missed, Adidas is suing Nike. Normally it’s Nike going after the three stripes, but this time the German footwear giant is kicking the action off.
The details: Adidas suing the swoosh for alleged copyright infringement on two different things, per Reuters.
First, the digital apps.
Adidas claims Nike’s Training Club, Run Club and SNKRS apps are violating the company’s patents.
SNKRS is the main cog here. Adidas launched the original CONFIRMED app, in February of 2015. A few months later in May, Nike launched SNKRS. Adidas alleges Nike’s digital marketplace infringes on their patent.
The other thing is Nike’s self-lacing Adapt technology and its dive into smart footwear.
Adidas says Adapt infringes on the Adidas_1 shoe — an obscure model that launched in 2005. It included a microchip to sense and adjust to comfort levels for the wearer. Sounds familiar, right?
The shoe was discontinued just a year later in 2006 and turned into a basketball shoe.
What Adidas wants: Its asking for “damages in an amount sufficient” to compensate for the infringement as well an injunction to prevent Nike from further infringing on its patents, which would effectively ban SNKRS, Adapt and more.
The timing: Bringing this stuff to the table in 2022 definitely feels a bit weird. We’re talking about a shoe in the Adidas_1 from back in 2005 and an app that launched 7 years ago. Why sue Nike over this stuff now?
To me, it feels like retaliation.
The background: Adidas and Nike have been battling each other in court for quite some time. There’s lots of history between these two. But, specifically, their battle over knit sneakers has been raging on for a decade now.
Most recently, in December, Nike asked the US International Trade Commission to block Adidas’ Primeknit imports to prevent its sale.
The 2021 request is still pending, but the knit battle has been going in since 2012.
Nike said it beat Adidas to the punch on knit by five months in 2012 and its won most of the legal battles surrounding it over the last decade.
Adidas is using the same argument here for its CONFIRMED app’s patent.
My thoughts: It’s a totally separate case, but this feels like something that Adidas may see as a potential leverage play. There’s really no other apparent reason to take these things to court all these years later.
It’s incredibly petty. But, obviously, both these companies have the money to allow these legal battles to play out over a lengthy time period. This is certainly something to keep an eye on.
Could we see a world where the SNKRS app is in jeopardy? That’s doubtful. But, depending on how this case turns out, maybe there could be some changes on the horizon.
Tom Sachs, a man of the people. Hopefully
Tom Sachs’ latest “General Purpose” shoe release had me a bit frustrated. It felt like more of the usual with Sachs.
Here’s why: That’s normally fine. I love Sachs’ work and I don’t feel like anything in the Mars Yard family needs to be egalitarian. That’s not what that shoe was made for. But for a General Purpose shoe? That shouldn’t be hard to get.
Everything about that sneaker screams accessible. From the look to even the way it was marketed, it was supposed to be the everyday person’s shoe.
Yet, there I sat on Tuesday, waiting for a notification that never came. Some of you got the notification and opened it up to sold out shoes. There were frustrations all around with that.
But there’s still hope: Sachs said on Instagram that the shoe is returning in August.
And, more importantly, this is not a shoe we’ll have to turn to resellers for. His words — not mine.
If you missed out today - Do NOT worry, this is not your last chance to buy this shoe. You will NOT be left turning to resellers…The General Purpose Shoe is designed to be a perennial. It will be restocked and accessible again
The takeaway: Those are certainly some assuring words from Sachs — especially as prices for these joints hover around $600 or so in most sizes.
We’ll see how it goes, though. The way drops happen now has broken me. Hopefully, Sachs stays true to his word here.
SD: Joe FreshGoods almost dropped the perfect sneaker. Almost
Last week, I had Joe FreshGoods’ sneakers at No. 4 on my “best of 2022” list so far and said it couldn’t be sneaker of the year because of its release. And, honestly, a lot of y’all felt me on that one.
I dove more into it after we finally got our hands on a pair for Special Delivery last week. They’re so good. But the release was so frustrating.
JFG and crew will figure the whole release thing out perfectly one day. And when they do? Whew boy. Watch out. That’s a powerhouse.
A sneaker thread for the ladies
We get so consumed by hyped sneakers these days that we don’t even stop to realize that that’s just a fraction of a fraction in sneaker culture that we’re talking about. Every once in a while, I see something that reminds me of just that.
This weekend it was this brilliant thread from the homie, JerLisa, showcasing sneakers for women, specifically, that aren’t that into kicks.
No raffles. No BS. Just attainable, fly ass kicks for reasonable prices. You can’t beat that.
Ladies, have at this one.
What’s droppin, bruh?
Yeezy 700 “Phosphor” — Monday, June 13
Adidas Terrex Hiker “Made to be Remade” — Monday, June 13
Kith x New Balance 990 collection — Wednesday, June 15 through Saturday, June 18
Puma MB.01 Low “UFO” — Thursday, June 16
Air Jordan 4 “Infrared” — Wednesday, June 15
That’s a wrap, folks! Thank you so much for rocking with me this morning. I appreciate you. Have a wonderful week!
Let’s chat again Wednesday. Until then, peace and love. Be easy, be safe, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯