Nike settles lawsuit against 3 former shoe designers

(Photo: Nike via U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)

Nike Inc. has settled a contentious and high-profile lawsuit against three former shoe designers just as the case entered the critical discovery phase.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Neither side got attorneys fees, according to a court record.

"The case was resolved through a confidential settlement," said Markowitz Herbold attorney Matt Levin, who represented the designers.

Nike did not immediately return an email. Adidas, which was not a party in the lawsuit, declined comment.

The settlement appears to have been reached somewhat suddenly.

The case was in the middle of a grueling stretch of discovery and depositions. The designers filed an amended response to Nike's original lawsuit this week, a filing that seems unlikely amidst protracted settlement talks.

Nike filed the lawsuit in December against former designers Denis Dekovic, Marc Dolce and Mark Miner and alleged the trio "conspired" to steal trade secrets, strategic plans and product designs and convinced Adidas AG to hire them to build a facsimile of Nike's famed innovation lab, known as the Kitchen.

The lawsuit asked for $10 million in damages and the immediate return or destruction of....continue reading.....



By Matthew Kish, Portland Business Journal KGW News partner. ©