In November 2022, Nike filed a lawsuit against Nickwon Arvinger, owner of By Kiy LLC, which operates the brand Kool Kiy. The paperwork, which was filed at the southern district of New York, alleged that Kool Kiy copied Nike’s Air Jordan 1 and Dunk designs and sold them as original pieces. It was reported that on May 15, a settlement had been reached. The terms of the confidential agreement assert that Kool Kiy must pay $1 Million and stop the sale of the lookalike sneakers.
BREAKING: Nike has won the lawsuit against Kool Kiy. Kiy is ordered to pay $1 MILLION in damages & cease production of his “By Kiy” sneakers. pic.twitter.com/OG4GS6a9Np
— Kari (@SneakerPhetish) May 22, 2024
This is not the first time Nike has had to defend its designs. Just last month, the company closed a similar case. Nike went after the brand, Reloaded Merch LLC, owned by Bill Omar Carrasquillo, who is better known as “Omi in a Hellcat.” He was ordered to pay $8 million to Nike in a default judgment by the court. Nike alleged that his designs copied the Air Jordan 1 and Nike Dunk editions. That judgment was reached last month.