Sneaker marketplace StockX fired back Monday against Nike, Inc.’s claims that it sold counterfeit Nike shoes, telling a Manhattan Federal Court that the sneaker giant had previously praised StockX’s efforts to weed out fakes.
In a June 6 filing, StockX said the platform has one of the strongest authentication processes in the industry and has devoted millions of dollars to battle the spread of fake products.
“Nike’s lawsuit is nothing more than a baseless and misleading attempt to interfere with an innovative and efficient method to trade in current culture, part of the increasingly popular and lawful secondary market for the sale of its sneakers and other goods,” StockX said in the new filing.
Nike claimed in a February lawsuit that StockX is infringing trademarks through a service called Vault NFTS.
Nike escalated the battle last month, saying it had purchased counterfeit shoes on its site despite promises that everything sold on the platform is authentic.
StockX said in its new response, “Despite numerous opportunities to offer feedback or criticisms, at no time in the past did Nike express concerns to StockX about its authentication processes. The motive behind Nike’s newfound litigation position is suspicious at best.”
StockX also reiterated that its Vault NFTs are not physical shoes.
In its original reply in April, StockX said Nike has a “fundamental misunderstanding of the various functions NFTs can serve.” StockX doubled down on this previous claim and said that the secondary market and consumers will be stifled and hurt by Nike’s “anticompetitive behavior.”
Photo courtesy StockX
