Max Verstappen’s clothing line was too similar to Nike.
Max Verstappen had to pay the price. PDO
Red Bull star Max Verstappen is hard to stop on the track, but the clothing giant Nike has done it off the track.
According to the Dutch news agency De Lumbrger, Nike has put an end to Verstappen’s Max 1 and Max Force 1 clothing collection. According to Nike, the Max 1 is too similar to the company’s long-standing Air Max line of shoes.
The two-time world champion launched a clothing line based on himself and his number, but quickly ran into legal problems.
Verstappen’s camp filed a trademark application in December 2021. In February 2022, Nike filed a trademark infringement lawsuit with the Benelux Industrial and Trademark Association.
Nike claimed that some of the designs in Verstappen’s Max 1 catalog were too similar to the clothing giant’s collection. It also claimed that the word Max was prominently used and compared to Nike.
Nike won the battle in February 2023 when the Benelux Industrial and Trademark Organization decided the case in Nike’s favor. It issued a report that the collection launched by Verstappen was at risk of confusion with Nike products. According to the agency, consumers could think Verstappen’s brand is associated with Nike.
Due to these reasons, Verstappen was fined around 1,100 dollars, i.e. around 1,045 euros.
The industrial and trademark regulations, however, accepted Verstappen’s part of the collection in two different categories, which include, for example, sports and training activities.
