Our RTFKT World Merging experience is now live! Connecting virtual and physcial worlds through NFTs and WM Chips Embedded in our iRL Products. pic from Steven Vasilev on LinkedIn
Note: This post is an exercise in argumentation. I’ve only researched this slightly and I’m presenting this as entertainment and as a catalyst for dialogue. Please complete your own research.
In a post on .SWOOSH I wrote recently I explained Nike was attempting to use their new platform to, “[E]ducate fans on all aspects of Web3 by hosting shows and explaining what a digital wallet is. They will talk about Proof of Stake vs Proof of Work in mining ETH. Nike is going to create an internal Discord capturing users within their digital eco-footprint.” Two days ago the Co-Founder of RTFKT announced an element for RTFKT that the company ENDSTATE has been using since ENDSTATE was founded, an embedded WM Chip (RTFKT’s version of an NFC Chip). In my post on .SWOOSH I posited that Nike could one day acquire ENDSTATE because of the ability to begin creating provenance with NFC Chips. I was wrong, but not far off. RTFKT will begin placing their chips into the IRL sneakers based on NFT drops. If you click the link to Vasilev’s post on LinkedIn you can listen to where the partners are heading, and it now makes perfect sense that Nike is suing a couple of “brands” who have been using Nike’s trademark Jordan 1 silhouette.
Recently @SneakerPhetish shared that Kool Kiy and Omi are being sued by Nike. I had no idea that my article was a part of the lawsuit:
@archbyccb ‘s deep dive into the owner of the famous “Lightning Bolt” is reference in the Kool Kiy / Omi lawsuit as they dig into also going after “Wandering Planet”, the true owner of the trademark. Neither Kiy nor Omi actually own that mark. pic.twitter.com/NRUNnBfxPU
— YouTube Guy (@SneakerPhetish) December 1, 2022
What was missed in all of the dialogue on Sneaker Phetish’s detailed discussions on Kool Kiy and Omi was one of the most evident aspects of why these two knock-off versions were hit by Nike at this moment. The Kool Kiy and Omi Jordan 1 sneakers have one element in common bringing a completely different element to this discussion. Here is the post I did last year on Air Kiy:
The Air Kiy Manufacturer Hit My DMs with Patent and Trademark Information
Here is the post I did on Nike’s acquisition of RTFKT. There are going to be a lot of links in this post because I’m setting up a position. When you look at the image of the RTFKT sneaker below in the link, I wish you could tell me what you see, but this is an article, and it requires you to sit and so OMG to yourself. Notice the logo for RTFKT? Now click back through the LinkedIn post and notice on the IRL product from RTFKT and Nike that the lateral side of the sneaker carries the Swoosh and the medial side carries the logo below. The logo used in Nike’s marketing of RTFKT looks strikingly similar to the two brands being sued:
Help Me Learn More About NFT’s & How They Can Be Utilized Beyond Digital Sneaker Art
Do you see it? If not let me add a pic of an Air Kiy from eBay and it becomes immediately apparent that Nike is playing a long game in regard to the trademark of the RTFKT logo. Now here is where this discussion gets compelling, KIY owns the lightning bolt trademark: Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) (uspto.gov), but it was only filed this year and this logo was filed last year: Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) (uspto.gov) It doesn’t matter that KIY only applied for the trademark in the last year, because a search on RTFKT in the trademark search doesn’t deliver the lightning bolt logo. This means KIY could potentially have an advantage in this lawsuit. I’m not a lawyer, but if this were a college class and I was requiring my students to write an argumentative essay, I would most definitely use this as a topic of discussion.
I would then expand the discussion to include how RTFKT’s tech is going to shape resale and authentication. NFC Chips won’t be able to be replicated by bootleggers as easily since they will be tied into a blockchain. This means that Nike using their WM chips will remove the need for authentication and could completely disrupt the purpose of platforms like StockX, GOAT, Grailed and eBay Sneakers. This is a revolutionary moment being overlooked for the more sensational story of Omi and KIY, but if it weren’t’ for the lawsuit and Sneaker Phetish’s tagging me, I would have ignored this altogether because it felt like an “I knew this was coming,” story, but with this research things just got really interesting… or am I reaching?