Toronto star Kawhi Leonard has filed a federal lawsuit against Nike, alleging that the shoe and athletic apparel giant prevents him from using a logo even though it supposedly belongs to him.
The lawsuit was filed on a travel day for the NBA Finals. Leonard and the Raptors flew to Oakland, Calif., Monday where they will prepare for Game 3 of the title series against the Golden State Warriors, to be played Wednesday night.
According to the lawsuit, it was filed in California because Leonard has a home in San Diego.
Leonard was sponsored by Nike until 2018. He now has a contract with New Balance. A Nike spokesman declined to comment Monday, saying the company does not discuss pending litigation.
The player is scheduled to speak to reporters on Tuesday when practices for the NBA Finals resume.
In the lawsuit, the star says that Nike filed an intellectual property application for a logo that he designed and did so “without Leonard’s knowledge and without his consent.”
Nike told Leonard earlier this year to stop using the logo, the suit says. Leonard is preparing to use the logo “on clothing lines, shoes and other products and, among other things, in connection with sports camps and charities,” adds the document filed with the court.
Leonard claims that he developed the logo by tracing his very large hands. The ring and little fingers of the logo are shaped like a “K”, the middle finger and thumb form an “L” and the index finger is designed to look like an elongated “2”. All this would be a reference to your initials and jersey number.
The lawsuit claims Leonard “perfected” the logo in December 2011 or January 2012, eventually allowing Nike to use it on certain products. Leonard wants the court to decide that he is the author of the logo and that Nike “committed fraud” when it registered it with intellectual property rights.
Leonard is in the NBA Finals for the third time, and he got there in his first season as a member of the Raptors, after previously playing it with the San Antonio Spurs.
He will become a free agent on June 30 and many teams, including the Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers, are expected to try to sign him this summer. AP