StockX, Nike conflict continues as the resale marketplace slams the footwear maker over fake shoe claims

Nike previously accused StockX, a resale marketplace of various products, of selling fake sneakers, and now it is hitting back at the footwear manufacturing giant. The company responded to the claims by emphasizing it has anti-counterfeit measures to prevent the sale of fake items in its store.

Nike claimed that StockX allowed the sale of knockoff versions of its sneakers, but the latter denied this. It also said that Nike even praised the StockX store when they collaborated.

StockX’s response was filed on Monday, June 6, at the U.S. District Court in New York City. A draft of the court filing was also seen by CNBC. Part of the draft reads, “In the past, Nike has sought to collaborate with StockX and has communicated confidence in the StockX authentication process.”

StockX and Nike are now formally entering a legal battle that originally started over a conflict related to non-fungible tokens or NFTs. It was the latter that first lodged a complaint against the former back in February. The Oregon headquartered sneaker and athletic apparel manufacturer sued the resale marketplace over the sale of NFTs featuring Nike shoes.

Nike said that StockX is infringing its trademarks through the NFTs, which could also mislead the customers. Nike was also preparing to enter the metaverse business at that time and started selling its own non-fungible tokens earlier this year.

The footwear giant explained that customers may confuse its NFTs with StockX’s. In response, StockX said that it only uses those NFTs to authenticate products. Based on this complaint, Nike amended its lawsuit against StockX to include the alleged sale of counterfeit Nike shoes.

The footwear company said that its latest claim stemmed from the fact that it was able to buy four pairs of Nikes from StockX, and these were said to be fakes. It was further alleged that one of the pairs even matched a StockX NFT that was supposed to authenticate the product.

“Nike’s recent allegations lack merit, demonstrate a lack of understanding of the modern marketplace, and display anticompetitive behavior that will stifle the secondary market and hurt consumers,” Scott Cutler, StockX’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. “We look forward to defending our reputation and understanding why Nike, which once sought to collaborate in combatting counterfeits, now seeks to undermine StockX’s business model.”