Besides the fierce battle in the finals, Kawhi Leonard also found time to prepare for a lawsuit.

According to the "Portland Business Journal" report, Raptors star Leonard recently sued Nike in the U.S. District Court for Southern California because the old sponsor did not obtain his consent. Next, copyright registration and commercial use of the "Klaw" signature trademark he designed.

The Raptors star stated in the lawsuit that in 2011, when he was a player signed by Nike's Jordan brand, he participated in the design of a personal logo with palms as the main element. But Nike later filed for trademark copyright on its own, claiming the company alone created the logo.

"Leonard first traced his particularly large hand and the inside of it. He also designed the shape of his initials KL and the No. 2 jersey he wore for most of his career. "Numbers," Leonard's lawyer said, "This creation first started when he was in college." Leonard claimed that he had earlier allowed Nike and its Jordan brand to use "Klaw" in some products. logo.

Until 2018, as Leonard switched to a new sponsor, New Balance, he planned to continue to use this logo in his clothing and footwear and other products, but found that the trademark had been registered by Nike.

Interestingly, the "New York Times" reported that the Los Angeles Clippers secretly investigated and tried to purchase the "Klaw" trademark rights, hoping to gain favor by giving it to Leonard and increase their bargaining chips to introduce the star. . But a Nike executive said the company rejected any sale and wanted to keep the trademark rights for as long as possible.

At present, Nike and Leonard have not commented publicly on this trademark case.

Early in his career, Leonard’s sneaker contract came from Nike’s Jordan brand. But last season, when his relationship with the Spurs reached a deadlock, his contract extension negotiations with Jordan did not go smoothly. Jordan proposed a four-year contract extension worth $22 million, but Leonard rejected it.

Leonard’s team believes that the new contract offer is not consistent with Leonard’s achievements and status in the league, and there is no commitment to launch exclusive signature shoes for him. In July 2018, the two parties announced that the negotiations had completely broken down, which caused some unpleasantness for the old partners.

While Leonard was seeking a new sneaker contract, New Balance was planning to return to the basketball market, hoping to sign a well-established star, and eventually hit it off with Leonard. ESPN reports that the average annual value of the deal is well over $5 million.

At the end of 2018, New Balance and Leonard officially launched their cooperation. Just three months later, the Raptors star’s first pair of signature boots, the OMN1S PE “Leonard”, was released. In May of this year, taking advantage of the excitement of the Eastern Conference Finals, New Balance continued to launch the Kawhi 2-Way Playoff limited edition sneaker set.

Within a few minutes of going on sale, Leonard’s limited edition sneaker set on the brand’s official website was sold out and entered the resale market at a high price – two related shoes, OMN1S and 997S, were sold on the second-hand platform StockX The prices are as high as US$594 and US$750 respectively, while the original retail price is only US$140.

This season, Leonard averaged 34 minutes per game during the regular season, scoring 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Before the finals, he averaged 38.7 minutes per game in the playoffs, scoring 31.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Currently, the Raptors and Warriors are tied 1-1 in the Finals.

It is worth noting that this dispute is similar to the trademark dispute between Nike and Federer.

In July 2018, during Wimbledon, tennis superstar Federer officially announced his switch from Nike to Uniqlo. Prior to this, the Swiss had worn Nike clothing throughout his career, and both parties had jointly launched Federer's eponymous trademark "RF". Public information shows that Nike registered the “RF” trademark in 2008, more than 10 years ago.

When leaving the Nike camp, Federer said that although the "RF" trademark is still owned by Nike, it will one day be returned to him. "This trademark is very important to me and to my fans." The same is true, after all, those are the initials of my name.”

After more than half a year of negotiations, Tennis Now reported in April this year that there was new progress in the negotiations between the two parties, and Federer was about to take it back from Nike. "RF" trademark. As for the price the Swiss will pay for this, it is not yet clear. At present, this trademark has completely disappeared from Nike’s sales channels.

In comparison, the way Federer and Nike handled the situation seemed to be more relaxed. As Leonard takes the dispute to court, the conflict between the two parties may further escalate, and this trademark dispute will be a protracted battle.