Nike settles logo lawsuit
The UK’s Hackney Council has won an out of court settlement against Nike for unauthorized use of their logo, which Nike used on a variety of sports clothes sold as far away as Japan and the Philippines. The sportswear giant apologized and has agreed to pay the council more than $560,000 and cover the legal costs of the lawsuit, according to an article on Out-Law.com.
The London Borough of Hackney logo has come to epitomize amateur soccer because of the famous Hackney Marshes, a swamp-turned-field that has 90 full-size soccer fields, the largest concentration of soccer fields in the world. On a typical Sunday, more than 100 matches are held. More info on the marshes here.
Nike UK spokesman Charlie Brooks said in a statement that Nike “inadvertently used imagery that included the council’s logo. This was done in good faith and not as a deliberate act, however we recognise the concern this has caused Hackney Council and we are pleased that this matter has now been concluded,” according to Hackney.
The Hackney Council logo–a rounded ‘H’ shape–was designed by Alec Davis in 1965. Davis, known for his clean, simple designs, also designed logos for Fogarty, British Aluminium, and Lloyds Bank.
