The war to gain the rights to the “Klaw” logo continues.
After Leonard reportedly filed a federal lawsuit against Nike, claiming that the logo was actually his design, the giant sports apparel company has fired back, saying that they own the logo and that Kawhi should no longer be using it since their contract ended last year.
JUST IN: Nike fires back at Kawhi Leonard, say they own his logo, say his use of it is in breach of their contract, which expired in September (H/T @JoshGerben) pic.twitter.com/0b1i4Ooj2k
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 18, 2019
Since 2014, Leonard has been claiming that the main idea of the “Klaw” came from him, but added “I give the Jordan Brand team all the credit because I’m no artist at all. They refined it and made it look better than I thought it would ever be, and I’m extremely happy with the final version.”
TMZ was able to obtain documents outlining Nike's countersuit against Leonard. In the said documents, Nike admits that Leonard did indeed provide an early draft for the design. However, the company argues that numerous changes were made to art before establishing a final version. Some of the notable differences include the graphic's placement of the “K” and “L letters, as well as the omission of the number “2” on the final product.
Nike also said that Leonard signed off of their design in 2014, which is when the company filed its own copyright. Then in 2017, Kawhi started attempting to trademark the logo for himself, as he claimed to be the sole owner of the design.
Nike is now seeking monetary damages and is countersuing Leonard for breach of contract, copyright infringement, and fraud.
This situation is starting to get really messy for the Fun Guy.
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