Nike accuses StockX of selling counterfeit sneakers, Marketplace responds by denying allegations

Nike filed a lawsuit against the online marketplace, StockX in February, and this was recently modified to include a complaint related to the sale of fake Nike shoes. The sneaker and sports apparel company is questioning the latter’s authentication process after claiming it is selling counterfeit items on its site.

Nike Inc. amended its lawsuit against StockX LLC to include a new complaint. It told a Manhattan federal court that the said online reseller has been offering fake Nike shoes to its customers.

With this additional allegation, the Beaverton, Oregon headquartered footwear manufacturing company has built up its legal case versus StockX. From the trademark infringement violation for the sale of virtual images or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of Nike sneakers, the suit has now expanded to include alleged counterfeit shoe sales of the Nike brand.

Nike explained in its complaint that it has recently purchased fake shoes from StockX despite its claims that its NFTs are part of the process that will guarantee the authenticity of the shoes it is selling, as per Reuters.

The original case that was filed in court three months ago stated that StockX has been selling NFTs of Nike sneakers without proper authorization from the company. Nike argued the virtual images caused customer confusion as it also started selling NFTs last month.

Now, in its updated suit that was filed on Tuesday, Nike alleged it has bought four pairs of shoes, and they turned out to be fake even if StockX had verified them to be authentic. With the new allegation, the online reseller issued a statement denying Nike’s claims.

“We take customer protection extremely seriously, and we’ve invested millions to fight the proliferation of counterfeit products that virtually every global marketplace faces today. StockX denies,” StockX said in a statement. “Nike’s latest filing is not only baseless but also is curious given that their own brand protection team has communicated confidence in our authentication program, and that hundreds of Nike employees – including current senior executives – use StockX to buy and sell products.”

The company went on to say that Nike’s “latest tactic amounts to nothing more than a panicked and desperate attempt to resuscitate its losing legal case” against the company’s innovative Vault NFT program.