Athletic shoe maker Nike Inc on Monday sued a New York-based company that produced “Satan Shoes” purported to contain a drop of human blood as part of a collaboration with Old Town Road rapper Lil Nas X.
Nike said in the lawsuit that the company, MSCHF Product Studio Inc, infringed on and diluted its trademark with the black-and-red, devil-themed shoes, which went on sale online on Monday.
Lil Nas X is not named as a defendant in the suit.
The shoes are customized Nike Air Max 97 sneakers that contain red ink and “one drop of human blood” in the sole, according to a Web site describing the 666 pairs of limited-edition shoes. The back of one shoe says “MSCHF” and the other says “Lil Nas X.”
Several media outlets reported that the shoes sold out in less than one minute at a cost of US$1,018 per pair.
Lil Nas X said on Twitter he would choose the recipient of the 666th pair from social media users who circulated one of his tweets.
Nike, in its lawsuit filed in federal court in New York, said the shoes were produced “without Nike’s approval and authorization,” and the company was “in no way connected with this project.”
“There is already evidence of significant confusion and dilution occurring in the marketplace, including calls to boycott Nike in response to the launch of MSCHF’s Satan Shoes based on the mistaken belief that Nike has authorized or approved this product,” the lawsuit said.
Nike asked the court to immediately stop MSCHF from fulfilling orders for the shoes and requested a jury trial to seek damages.
Representatives for Lil Nas X and MSCHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Grammy-winning rapper, 21, on Friday released a video for a new song, Montero (Call Me By Your Name), in which he dances with a character wearing devil horns.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
‘NO DISRUPTION’: A US trade association said that it was ready to work with the US administration to streamline the program’s requirements and achieve shared goals The White House is seeking to renegotiate US CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signaled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements, two sources familiar with the matter told reporters. The people, along with a third source, said that the new US administration is reviewing the projects awarded under the 2022 law, meant to boost US domestic semiconductor output with US$39 billion in subsidies. Washington plans to renegotiate some of the deals after assessing and changing current requirements, the sources said. The extent of the possible changes and how they would affect agreements already finalized was not immediately clear. It was not known
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the