The legal saga between Nike and Bill Omar Carrasquillo, better known as Omi in a Hellcat, over trademark infringement claims has reached its conclusion.
On Friday, Judge Victor Marrero in New York granted a default judgment to Nike against Carrasquillo of Reloaded Merch LLC, ordering him to pay the brand $8 million in damages for “promoting, copying, and selling” its copycat Air Jordan 1 and Nike Dunk sneakers. News of the filing was first reported by Sneaker Legal on Instagram.
The battle between Nike and Omi in a Hellcat began in November 2022 when the Swoosh filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the designer for selling sneakers that allegedly infringed on Nike’s Air Jordan 1 and Dunk designs.
In the original suit, Nike also took legal action against designer Kool Kiy for violating the Air Jordan 1 and Dunk trade dress, but those parties agreed to a confidential settlement in August 2023.
Per recent court documents, lawyers for Omi withdrew from the case as his counsel in February after the designer failed to pay outstanding balances owed. In March, the court granted his counsel’s motion to withdraw, which eventually led to the default judgment ruling against Omi. The court also ruled that the designer has been barred from making, promoting, and selling his Air Jordan 1 and Nike Dunk lookalike shoes moving forward.
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