Activewear brand LNDR wins trademark case against Nike in the UK

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Jul 26, 2018

Up-and-coming UK-based premium activewear label LNDR has been awarded a victory in a trademark case against Nike over a dispute arising from the Oregon-based company's January 2018 "Nothing Beats a Londoner" campaign.

At the root of the dispute was the use of the the text "LDNR", which was placed adjacent to the Swoosh in Nike's campaign, a fact which the LDNR brand successfully argued would confuse consumers. The LDNR mark was used on Nike's social media, in live events, merchandising giveaways and in-store displays as the core campaign messaging.

In a release, Joanna Turner, founder of East London-based LNDR, said: “Nike’s campaign gained a huge amount of exposure very quickly. From our point of view, it was educating the public that ‘LDNR’ was either a Nike trademark, or that there was a collaboration between our two brands. We felt that we had no choice, but to protect our brand and identity, and the trademarks that support them, which are critical to our continued growth."

"Confusion of our products or brand with Nike would be extremely damaging," she added, going on to explain, "It was not an easy decision to go up against a giant like Nike, and it is not a situation you imagine you will ever have to take on."

The case was filed in Intellectual Property Enterprise Court. According to LNDR's attorneys, trademark cases typically take 12-18 months to decide, making this a quick decision that recognized the need to stop Nike from using LNDR's trademark.

LNDR's attorney Arty Rajendra noted that "LNDR has a growing reputation and as a premium brand it could not sit by and let Nike damage it."

LNDR is a three-year-old label that has already gained a celebrity following with fans including Gigi Hadid, Kourtney Kardashian, Sofia Richie and Margot Robbie. It is sold in 20 countries in gyms, high-end specialty retailers and boutiques, such as Selfridges, Net-a-Porter.com, Harrods, Nordstrom, Equinox and Lane Crawford.

Nike has not indicated whether it intends to appeal the decision.