Nike sues former designers over Adidas defection

It also claims that the designers began working for Adidas while still Nike employees, «in direct and flagrant violation of their noncompete agreements». News: sports brand Nike is suing three of its former footwear designers for $10 million, alleging that they took   trade secrets to arch-rival Adidas. «The Brooklyn Creative Studio will be a small but essential operation aimed at exploring design direction for the brand,» said Paul Gaudio, Adidas global creative director. Official tournament sponsor Adidas launched its Battlepack boot collection and a popular new football, fighting off guerrilla marketing tactics from Nike, who commissioned typographers Wim Crouwel and Neville Brody to help redesign team kits. pic.twitter.com/3wIBEd4xrs
— dD (@DenisDekovic) December 9, 2014
«We find Nike’s allegations hurtful because they are either false or are misleading half-truths,» it said. We have a tremendous amount of respect for our colleagues and Nike and would never do anything to harm them.»
Despite being based in Germany, Adidas had agreed to open a new studio with the designers in Brooklyn to serve as its first «open-source creative centre». «We did not take trade secrets or intellectual property when we departed Nike in September.»
«During our entire careers at Nike, we gave nothing but our maximum effort. Related story: Adidas withdraws shoes with shacklesNike claims that they promised to bring information to Adidas that would hurt Nike, including its strategic plans for the next two to three years in running, sportswear and football. We collectively poured in hours, passion and dedication beyond what was asked or expected of us, often prioritising our jobs over our families.»
«Until the very end, we stayed engaged, loyal and committed. The three designers, who were senior figures in   Nike’s   footwear,   football and basketball design studios, left the Oregon-based brand   earlier this year to start   their own studio. The legal document   listed the material it claims the designers «stole», including «future strategic development plans, product offering and product launches», «unreleased product technology», «virtual testing methodologies» and «marketing campaign materials», and demands both a jury trial and $10 million (£6.4 million) compensation. In September the trio announced   they would begin working for Adidas in 2015, heading up the new Adidas Creative Studio in Brooklyn, once their non-competition agreement with Nike had expired. The announcement followed a battle between the two brands for dominance during the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. «We believe the complaint Nike filed against former footwear employees Denis Dekovic, Marc Dolce and Mark Miner explains the situation clearly,» a Nike spokesperson told Dezeen.