There are a lot of unsolved mysteries out there when it comes to the world of sneakers. But one of the biggest and most perplexing ones to date was this: Why hadn’t Nike sued BAPE?
This was the subject in so many sneaker forums back in the day. It’s been a question for decades at this point.
Now, though? It’s finally happened. Nike officially filed a formal complaint against BAPE in New York, alleging that the company has been using their “asserted trademarks” on the Air Force 1, Air Jordan 1 and Nike Dunk to create BAPE products. As a result, Nike says, there is confusion in the marketplace.
Nike isn’t exactly wrong here. BAPE’s foundation — the BAPE STA — revolves around sneakers that are very clear riffs on the Air Force 1. The Japanese streetwear brand has been making them since 2005. Those riffs have also extended to the Jordan 1 and Nike Dunk in the last couple of years — two of Nike’s most successful and iconic models to date.
But the thing is, BAPE has been around since the mid-2000s. And Nike has seemed to consistently let things slide. So we’re looking at two questions here. Why didn’t Nike sue them before? And why are they doing it now?
Luckily, we’ve got some answers. Let’s get into them.
Wait, back up. What is BAPE?
Ah, yes. Sorry. I forgot, everyone isn’t the sneaker nerd that I am. So, for the uninformed out there, BAPE is a streetwear brand that was founded back in 1993 by Japanese creative mogul Tomoaki Nagao — most people know him as Nigo.
He’s a DJ, a fashion designer, a creative director. The dude just does a lot. You probably know him from his association with Pharrell. The two made music together, make clothing together, and so much more.
Anyway, BAPE — which is short for “A Bathing Ape” — was Nigo’s brand until he sold it in 2009. The company made shoes that were essentially colorful versions of Air Force 1s. They look amazing, but they’re expensive. Here’s a pair.
That’s one of their latest models, but BAPE has been making the BAPE STA for years.
So, OK. They make knockoff Air Force Ones?
Well, that’s the simple version of it. That’s essentially what their shoes were. The shoes are a clear riff on the Air Force 1’s design, but instead of using a Nike swoosh, they use a star, which is where the name BAPE STA comes from.
But simply calling these knockoffs feels a bit disingenuous considering how impactful these sneakers were in a cultural sense. So many rappers and Hip-Hop icons have been spotted in Bape. One of the most iconic lines from Soulja Boy’s “Crank Dat” song that everybody loves is “Haters gettin’ mad cause, I got me some Bathing Apes.”
These shoes — and Bape as a brand — are iconic. There’s no other way to put it.
So is that why Nike has let things slide with Bape?
Well, not exactly. Apparently, according to Nike’s court filing which you can read here, the two sides worked out a deal in 2009.
Nike and BAPE met and came to an agreement that Nike wouldn’t take any action so long as Bape continued to sell most of its products in Asia where it had more of an audience. Here’s an excerpt from the complaint itself.
“BAPE began selling its products in the U.S. in the mid-2000s. But BAPE faced a number of problems in the U.S. footwear market due to scarcity of product and high pricing.3 Its presence and product offerings in the U.S. footwear market were limited and not widely available through online websites or markets…Despite it’s minimal presence in the US Market, Nike contacted and met with BAPE in 2009 to address BAPE’s pirating of Nike’s iconic Air Force 1 design and to protect Nike’s intellectual property rights. Following the meeting, BAPE significantly and materially diminished its U.S. activities.”
Basically, this was Nike saying as long as BAPE keeps its business in Asia, there won’t be any problems. That’s exactly what BAPE did, so Nike didn’t bother it.
So what changed then?
BAPE did, according to Nike. The Oregon based company claims its Japanese counterpart altered the design of its BAPE STA sneaker, once more, to resemble the Air Force 1 once again.
Bape for years sold redesigned Bapestas (left, from 2018) that looked less like Nike Air Force 1s. Nike says in lawsuit that the new Bapestas (right, from 2022) return to the "initial infringing design." pic.twitter.com/zJbPibheCM
— brendandunne (@brendandunne) January 26, 2023
Nike also is dinging the company for taking designs from both the Air Jordan 1 and Nike Dunk.
Wow… Nike just sued Bape 👀 Filed 1/25/2023 #nike #bape #lawsuit #TM #AF1 #AJ1 pic.twitter.com/44BW5twr1M
— Sneaker & Streetwear Legal Services℠ (@SneakerLegal) January 26, 2023
Is there more?
There is another factor at play here. Nike also claims BAPE has, once again, upped its presence in the North American market since 2021.
“Meanwhile, BAPE was rapidly expanding its physical presence in the United States, opening new stores in New York City (Madison Ave. & Soho), Los Angeles, and Miami. Today, the BAPE STA, COURT STA, and SK8 STA sneakers are available for purchase nationwide on BAPE’s U.S. website and in its U.S. stores.”
So, with that, Nike has seemingly found a reason to sue.
Why would BAPE open itself up to a lawsuit like this?
Money, y’all. Sneakers are mainstream now. There’s more money in the sneaker business than there’s ever been and BAPE wants a piece of it. Even if it means that they’re in danger of being sued.
It looks like that’s what is about to happen.
So how will this end?
Honestly, we don’t have any idea. As for what Nike is looking for, the complaint asks for 3 times the amount of compensatory damages
BREAKING 🚨
Nike is suing Bape for trademark infringement and is asking for three times the amount of compensatory damages 😳😳 pic.twitter.com/9nkAl9KFnk
— Nice Kicks (@nicekicks) January 26, 2023
But we don’t know how this all will end. BAPE hasn’t responded yet and it’s only been a day. So we’ll see.
But don’t expect this to be resolved anytime soon. There’s going to be lots of pushback and lots of controversy to follow here. We’ll have you covered on it all.
