A few days ago, Lil Nas X released a new video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)“ in which he—among other things—rides a stripper pole down into Hell after getting shut out of Heaven and gives Satan a lap dance, though somewhat straightforwardly controversial on the surface, Lil Nas X smartly framed the video as both an expression of being happy with who he is as a gay man and a “fuck you” to the people who would try and have tried to make him feel bad for who he is. As we pointed out on Sunday, it was essentially a trap to get people to expose their intolerances (which many people, including a former NBA player and a politician, did do).
As an extra bonus payoff for the release of the video, Lil Nas X also teamed up with a company called MSCHF that specializes in limited-edition troll-y products to sell 666 pairs of “Satan Shoes” like the ones the Devil wears in the “Montero” video, with MSCHF proudly proclaiming that each shoe contained a drop of human blood in the sole. The Satan Shoes were actually customized Nike Air Max 97s, and a lot of people jumped at the chance to channel their discomfort over the “Montero” video into some kind of religious-based offense over the shoes by yelling at Nike itself—even though it was quick to distance itself from the whole thing.
The Satan Shoes went on sale this morning and immediately sold out, but even though the evil horse has already left the evil barn, Nike has decided to file a lawsuit against MSCHF for trademark infringement. As Hollywood-reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Nike cites the social media confusion about whether or not it was involved as proof that MSCHF had messed with its trademark, since the shoes are definitely Nikes, which Nike says is causing “dilution” with its brand and creating “unfair competition.” It’s asking for “compensatory, statutory, and punitive damages,” as well as “disgorgement of profits in an amount to be determined.” Nike also wants all of the shoes and any marketing materials, so if you were lucky enough to get a pair before they sold out… you might not get them. We’ll see how this shakes out.
It’s worth noting that Lil Nas X himself isn’t being sued, possibly because Nike knew that he would just post some blistering meme on Twitter and they’d get shamed into oblivion, but he did post a funny SpongeBob clip in response to the suit. He’s going to have to eat his paintings!
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Shit, fuckin Nike is just jealous they didn’t come up with idea and make all the profits. Remind me again, which level of Hell are Nike sweatshops located?Also, anyone know how much the shoes actually sold for? ($666 is apropos) Seems like modifying an existing shoe should fall under art, not to mention classic shoe resale is already a huge thing.
Nike is just jealous they didn’t come up with idea and make all the profits.Which is basically the entire point of trademark, so that observation means nothing to the legal status of the case.
Yes, but resale of shoes is perfectly legal and so is modifying them which falls under fair use. They already made profits off the original Air Max 97 shoe sales at one point.
Both of those things are legal *with restrictions* that may apply in this particular case. Yes, it’s legal at base to resell pretty much anything you buy at retail, the specific issue there is the scale of your reselling business. At some point you are no longer a reseller and are simply yourself a retailer, and while that may not be specifically a trademark issue if MSCHF is exceeding that scale without the appropriate licensing they are inviting scrutiny here they don’t want. That issue of scale may also however make it difficult to hold up the “transformative work of art” claim given that MSCHF produced 666 of the same pair of shoes with the same design to retail; that is not the same as to order after-market customization of individual pairs of shoes. Fair use tends not to cover uses/modifications for the purpose of commercial profit, “commercial” being a key word there. There is also, and this is probably going to be the chicken dinner here, the fact that MSCHF at least initially marketed said modified shoes under the Nike name, which would veeeery likely disqualify a fair use claim on its own.I would say that a fair bit of sneaker resale and customization actually at the very least pushes hard against the boundaries of fair use but it’s both so widespread and kind of underground at the same time it’s generally not worth it for companies to make much out of less egregious cases. Here though we have a case where the custom reseller made a big enough deal out of it that Nike simply can’t brush it off.
Apparently, from the same company Nike Air Max 97s are decked out with 60 ccs of holy water sourced straight from the River Jordan and injected into the soles (so you can literally walk on water like me), a crucifix, red insoles to call back to Vatican traditions, and a Matthew 14:25 inscription. They’re also scented with frankincense which is what nuns smell like.Where were the lamentations of then?
They’re also scented with frankincense which is what nuns smell like.
Nothing good can come from that close to a nun.
Nothing good can come from that close to a nun
This isn’t what Italian porn has told me.
My mum and dad, both raised Catholic, would agree.They christened me and my brother Uniting.
In my experience, frankincense would’ve been an improvement.
Hopefully the part of the Jordan that isn’t polluted.For lamentations, they should have referenced Conan 14:25 instead.
By Grom, you’re right!
It’s ironic that there’s more child abuse built into the core of Christianity, but any evidence of pro-Satan people doing anything wrong is usually along the lines of how Pikachu is evil.
Clearly this is all a big misunderstanding and Lil Nas X is just showing his appreciation for the man who saved humanity from Perfect Cell and Majin Buu…
Judging by his Twitter, I think Lil Nas would appreciate your joke. He’s down with the Dragon Balls
He is a man of culture.
if not wealth and/or taste.
I am obviously not a lawyer because I have to ask, if you are modifying Nike shoes, how is that dilution or trademark infringement? They are obviously a product that Nike already sold as a pair of sneakers.Sure, if you are making fake Nike shoes, that’s a problem but otherwise, it sounds to me like a work of art or at least a resale of used and modified/refurbished Nike’s. I am not aware of any law or regulation stopping resale of a bought and paid for product.
Maybe they’re using Ferrari’s lawyers:https://jalopnik.com/ferrari-sent-deadmau5-a-cease-and-desist-about-his-purr-1627640534
It is just legalese about brand confusion. Normally, this would just result in a cease and desist letter demanding that the seller revise the product name and product description to avoid infringement. This stuff happens on Etsy with customized products or accessories to an existing product.
Nike’s argument seems to be that it wasn’t clear enough that these were essentially modified after-market shoes, but a legitimate Nike product made with their participation. The fact that people got mad at them seems to be crux of their case.
Will that hold up? I have no idea. The word “enough” is hiding a pretty subjective range of possibilities there. But it’s probably a blurry enough line to force a settlement of some kind.
Yeah, I actually know conservative MAGA types who were all up in arms about this—pearl clutching, demanding Nike pull them from the market immediately, yada yada. It was pretty funny.
This isn’t real litigation in my opinion. It’s PR to get the fundy crowd off their back. It will be quietly dropped once all the hubbub dies down.
Pretty sure Nike burned any hypothetical fundy bridges with the Kaepernick ad. This seems like a pretty straightforward case of a third party pulling Nike into a controversy Nike wasn’t prepared to get involved in. The drop of human blood alone is enough reason for a company like Nike to not want any association here, and as has been pointed out numerous times in similar incidents, not initiating any action at all in this instance could potentially work against the company in future litigation over even more serious infringements.
Hey guys, ed’s not a lawyer! I want my money back, ed!
While I am also not a lawyer, I think MSCHF is going to run into trouble mostly because it explicitly used Nike’s name and trademark in advertising the shoes. That’s a no-no if you’re profiting off of the sale, unless you’ve gotten the company’s permission. The swoosh is front and center in that picture, and they use Nike in the text. If they’d gotten rid of the swoosh and not mentioned Nike in the copy, they likely would have been OK. But then they would have had a much harder time extorting $1,000 out of people to buy them, because limited run Nike collaborations can be expensive, whereas non-branded shoes don’t command as much on the market. Honestly, if I saw that post on twitter or instagram, I would assume it was a collaboration with Nike, and I think that is the crux of Nike’s argument. They didn’t market “Satan shoes,” they marketed “Satan Nikes designed by Lil Nas X.” The branding was clear. Whether Nike will win (or even see it all the way through), is another matter. More likely than not, Nike settles this or quietly drops it once the religious/intolerant folks get all het up over something else and direct their ire elsewhere.
It’s at the very least to maintain an established record of protecting their trademark. I don’t know how dropping the case entirely might affect that; I suspect they will at least pursue some sort of settlement.
Compared to all the depressing stuff on Twitter last week, this shit is a fucking hoot and I’m totally here for it.
Come on, the Suez boat wasn’t that sad
Ironically, full of Nikes.
I wish Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj was still on so he could devote an entire episode to this.
As many have pointed out elsewhere, considering Nike’s overseas manufacturing practices, it seems highly unlikely this is the first pair of their shoes made with drops of blood. Or children’s tears, for that matter.
It’s worth noting that Lil Nas X himself isn’t being sued
Because they are going to sign him to an endorsement deal once the furor dies down. Old Town Road could be seen as a fluke. This confirms he is a branding genius and at the start of what is likely a long run as a youth culture icon. Kids will love him because their parents hate him and that kind notoriety is more precious than conflict diamonds.
1000%. I thought Old Town Road was sort of a fluke, at least how big it was – he kind of lucked out that Billy Ray Cyrus is pretty chill and threw his clout into the ring, but didn’t stick himself in more than necessary with the remix and didn’t soak up Lis Nas X’s praise. But the ability to just, stay ahead of the the curve and stay trending – while also not oversaturating us, is pretty damn impressive.
He’s just – cool. I don’t even like his music much myself, it’s not my style – but I enjoy him a lot. I think he’s got a long future too.
It’s not great music, but to me he does come across as someone who is aware and thoughtful enough to take advantage of the cultural wind without seeming exploitative, which has to be a fine line to walk and I think speaks to his apparent genuineness as a person.
It’s worth noting…
no wait, none of this is worth noting.
Sounds like he’s been…Touched By An Agent.
Pun Achievement Unlocked! Take your damn star.
$1000 for a pair of red shoes! Shoe collectors are nuts.
I have a bad feeling about whose blood is in those shoes. It probably isn’t anyone American.
Wow, I am officially old because this all sounds stupid as fuck. I mean, grats to Lil Nas for being ok with himself, but other than that–nah.
Reading this has made me realise I don’t get to see the word “disgorgement” often enough.
maybe you’re just looking in all the wrong places.
..good rule of thumb is if you’re pissing off Nike you’re doing something right…
He pissed off evengelicals, who in turn, cried to Nike.
True , although again, if you’re passing off the evangelicals , you’re probably doing something good.I think of all the lils( Wayne, uzivert, pump, shortforastormtrooper) I like him best
MAKE PANIC SATANIC AGAIN
Does the Devil wear Satan Shoes?
I completely understand their outrage. Satan, like the Illuminati, is no laughing matter.
I was a little surprised…by that jacket!
This is one of those things where I don’t give a shit, and if we all just collectively didn’t give a shit it wouldn’t be news. No one is affected outside the outrage bubble.
¿Eso son Reebok o son Nikes?
“rides a stripper pole down into Hell after getting shut out of Heaven’He was not “shut out of Heaven”. He was ascending to it perfectly fine when the pole from hell presented itself and he took that opportunity instead. It’s a fairly important distinction for the narrative/message of the video so why f- it up so obviously?