MusicRadar
The place for music makers
Eddie Van Halen sues Nike
Says shoemaker infringed his famous stripes
Joe Bosso, Wed 17 Jun 2009, 1:19 pm UTC
Eddie Van Halen filed a lawsuit against Nike in Los Angeles last Friday, alleging the company used the trademarked striped design from his guitar on their new line of 'Dunk Lows' sneakers.
As seen in the picture below, the Nike shoes feature red, white and black streaks along the midsole.
And as seen in this picture below, Van Halen's chucks, marketed in conjunction with FEA Marketing and available at EVHgear.com, feature the stripes associated with the body of the guitarist's famed 'Frankenstein' guitar. Eddie Van Halen received a 2001 copyright for the guitar's body design.
In their description of the Dunk Low, Nike says the sneakers feature "a combination leather and suede upper with 'mesh-like' detail on the toebox and side panels. The red stitching accents around the Nike swoosh add great contrast, and the graphic details on the midsole really makes this design stand out."
To Eddie Van Halen, they stand out a tad too much.
Court papers allege that Nike infringed on that copyright by using the design on sneakers without "consent, approval or license."
Van Halen claims Nike is causing "irreparable harm and damage" to his signature design. He is seeking general and punitive damages, all profits arising from the sales of Dunk Lows and a permanent injunciton halting production of the Nike shoes.
As a guitarist, Eddie Van Halen is one of the most infuential and emulated players of all time. But nicking his stripes? Apparently, that's where he draws the line.
User comments (5)
-
can't believe I'm reading this, I myself play guitar too, I have been in front of a few musicians along the years, and Yes not all of them left an awesome impression on me, but afterwards it's about the Music. Ed not only designed the stripes as several patterns on his guitars, he also wears those shoes from a long time ago, although it's his contributions to technology and Music what counts here, which are huge to the "Development of guitarists sounds", let's give him a break, he's the "Mad Genius" behind the hole deal, without him there won't be any "sustain" or "Heaviness" in our Music. I guess if you are into bands like "The Killers" ( which are not too aggressive as their name suggests) or The White Stripes" then it won't matter, but if you play real Music, then you'll understand what a true Guitar Player EVH is, not the aspiring "Rock Stars" who look like a bunch of nerds pretending to be interesting on anti-fashion clothes (not that I care about Fashion) and in bands of more than 5 people because they can't handle duties of what's regularly played by three Musicians...Sad!
Ed get Nike to recognize they are ripping off your trade mark, you deserve some respect after all! -
T- Mobile owns the trademark on the colour magenta (but only in the field of Telecommunications), and Cadbury's own their Purple on the use of confectionary. So I would imagine EVH has quite a strong case here. Its somewhat akin to owning a clan tartan.
-
You gotta' be kidding me. It's just coloured lines. Surely you can't put a copyright or similar claim on that?
-
For a man so deep into music, he hasn't really released anything over the past few years, has he? I can't believe he hasn't started another group with a different format, gone solo or even guested on a few tracks, instead of wasting his time developing the wasted LA guitar bum version of Chav Burberry... at least Axl actually has proof he spent his time making music for all these years.
-
you know... I LOVE Eddie Van Halen's guitar MUSIC... BUT his attitude, reputation, and everything else that has been happening (Guitar Hero issues, about the 2 members not being on the video game; former band members "quitting", rather than being 'fired' (so "he looks like the 'good guy' ") has been turning me away from his TREMENDOUSLY!!! Like I said, I LOVE his MUSIC, but NOT about the way he does "his music profession"!!!... sorry Ed... but 'YOU'... NOW SUCK....
You need to be logged in to post a comment. Login or Register to post a comment.
Poll
ReviewFinder
Click to find gear in the following categories:
- Guitars (2983)
- Amplification (787)
- Computers & Software (1390)
- Recording (370)
- Keys & Synths (131)
- Drums (641)
- DJing (22)
- Publications (47)
- Clothing (2)
- Gadgets (13)
Buy here
MusicRadar Marketplace
If you're looking for great deals on gear, tuition, mastering, education or kit hire, click here for our new and improved marketplace.
rodrigotrupp
20 weeks ago.