Under Armour files lawsuit against Nike

[wyopokes2]

Was tempted to put this in the Lounge but I think it has to do with General Design. Anyways Under Armour will be suing the swoosh over an apparent infringement of the term "I WILL". I always find it interesting when Nike/Under Armour/Adidas lawsuits come about. You can find the article here

Late this afternoon, in a district court in Baltimore,Maryland, Under Armour filed a complaint against Nike, alleging trademark infringement. The trademark in question is Under Armour’s advertising phrase, “I Will,” which is part of a brand new marketing campaign. It is the first time that Under Armour has ever sued Nike.

(Nike sued Under Armour back in 2003 over the use of the term “DRI-FIT”).

In the complaint (found below), Under Armour alleges that Nike

"launched an advertising campaign for its performance apparel, footwear, accessories, sporting goods, and related services that appropriates ‘I WILL’ prominently, repeatedly, and in a format and context that imitates Under Armour’s longstanding use of its iconic I WILL trademark/tagline for these same types of products and services."

Under Armour says that Nike has appropriated the phrase and has used it (and a variation of another UA marketing phrase, “Protect this house”) in various online and social media outlets. The Nike tag line: “I will protect my home court.”

Under Armour had revenues last year of $1.8 billion. Nike’s were $25 billion.

Under Armour founder and CEO, Kevin Plank, has long fashioned himself and his company as the scrappy underdog to Nike. “We prefer to battle our competitors in the marketplace and on the field of play,” Under Armour said in a statement.

A call to Nike has thus far received no response . A Nike spokesperson says the company has no comment at this time.

[bucknut40]

I get that companies are really picky about there slogans....but this is a little over dramatic if you ask me. The I Will was used by Nike when they were asking people what they were going to do to improve in 2013 on twitter and facebook. "I will" is a pretty common phrase and I find it hard to sue over. Even if Under Armour has a case, I always have and always will see Under Armours motto as "Protect This House"

[pcgd]

Are lawsuits now marketing opportunities?

Awesome.

[pianoknight]

Nike's 2015 campaign:

"THE"

Lawsuits to follow.

[Joshawaggie]

Nike's 2015 campaign:

"THE"

Lawsuits to follow.

Revised, after lawsuit submission:

"TEH"

[lancealot]

I will protect my home court is a stupid tag line, it's too long and isn't catchy at all

[BrandMooreArt]

no matter how "stupid" the tag line is, if it's being used on UA material and anyone else copies it, then they have a case. simply, you cant do that.

[andrewharrington]

The fact that I work in the industry and had no idea that the phrase "I Will" was associated with Under Armour says one of two things: either I don't pay enough attention (which may be the case, though I think I do a pretty good job at keeping up on things), or the phrase was not marketed as heavily as was mentioned in the lawsuiit (i.e., UA thinks it has much more visibility in the market than it does).

[nicktharipper]

I Will is definitely an Under Armour thing.

That being said, funny bit of irony in that their new "I Will" commercial is a 60 second detailing of a complete and total rip-off of the Nike Fuel ecosystem.