The “King of Pop” makes an interesting appearance in a giant lawsuit Nike filed Monday against three former designers.
The lawsuit alleges former designers Denis Dekovic, Marc Dolce and Mark Miner “conspired” to steal trade secrets, strategic plans and product designs and convincedAdidas to hire them to build a facsimile of Nike’s famed innovation lab, known as the Kitchen. The lawsuit seeks $10 million in damages and the immediate return or destruction of Nike trade secrets.
The lawsuit also describes a Dekovic side project for a “Moonwalker” line of footwear that Nike claims is “based on, in part, existing vintage Nike designs” and branded as a “Michael Jackson-inspired product line.”
Nike claims Dekovic raised money from outside investors while employed by Nike and is “poised to launch the Moonwalker shoes and sportswear line in early 2015” with “projected … gross profits to be $93 million in the first six years of business.”
Since Dekovic had an “assignment” agreement, Nike claims it’s entitled to the concept and has asked the court to rule that Nike owns the “intellectual property and all business plans, designs, or documents related to the Moonwalker shoes and sportswear.”
The designers have not had a chance to fully respond to the lawsuit, but in a statement Monday said the allegations are untrue and “hurtful.”
SOURCE: LA Biz
