Photographer sues Nike over Michael Jordan logo

Photographer Jacobus Rentmeester is suing Nike for allegedly violating copyright laws by using his work to create their famous Michael Jordan "Jumpman" logo.

The New York City artist filed the lawsuit in Oregon federal court late last week. Rentmeester claims that he took the photo of Michael Jordan for a 1984 Summer Olympics piece in Life Magazine, the rights of which he would have retained as a freelancer. The photographer staged the particular pose that Jordan adopts in the picture.

The lawsuit states, "Mr. Rentmeester created the pose, inspired by a ballet technique known as a 'grand jete,' a long horizontal jump during which a dancer performs splits in mid-air. The pose, while conceived to make it appear that Mr. Jordan was in the process of a dunk, was not reflective of Mr. Jordan's natural jump or dunking style." The suit also claims that Michael Jordan reinforced the idea that the pose had been influenced by a ballet move in a 1997 interview with Hoop Magazine.

Shortly after the image's publication in Life Magazine in '84 Nike's Peter Moore, designer of the first Air Jordans, paid Rentmeester a small fee for temporary use of his transparencies. Nike then allegedly created a nearly identical copy of the photograph and reproduced it on posters and billboards. When Rentmeester threatened to sue in 1985, Nike paid $15,000 for a two year limited license. However, the suit claims that Nike did not stop using the photograph and its likeness after the two years were up, and instead created the "Jumpman" logo, a silhouette of a leaping Michael Jordan.

It is unclear why Rentmeester waited nearly 28 years to file the lawsuit against Nike. He seeks to halt Nike's current sales related to the logo, plans for the brand's future and disgorgement of profits

If you believe your intellectual property rights have been violated, consult a business attorney who can ensure you are protected.

Categorised in: Intellectual Property Law

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