The Nike Jumpman logo didn’t violate copyright

Nike has been exonerated.

A federal appeals court upheld the sportswear multinational accused in 2015 by photographer Jacobus Rentmeester of infringing copyright with the famous Air Jordan logo.

The man had created for Michael magazine an image of Michael Jordan for a service in view of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, the year in which the champion passed to the Chicago Bulls: in flight, legs apart, leaning towards the basket with the ball in one hand.

Nike paid the photographer $ 15,000 for the use of his photo for two years but then he did another, then became known as "Jumpman", the Air Jordan logo.

According to Rentmeester, the image used by Nike was too similar to its own and, for this reason, in January 2015 it sued the sportswear giant.

Now a decision 2-1, the Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit of the United States ruled that the photo of the man was not so much like the famous logo. More precisely, his photo has a different background, an illumination and other visual attributes that completely differentiate it from the Jumpman.

In the official statement of the court we read: “Just as Rentmeester made a series of creative choices in the selection and arrangement of the elements in his photograph, so too Nike’s photographer made his own distinct choices in that regard. Those choices produced an image that differs from Rentmeester’s photo in more than just minor details.” 

Of course, Nike declared itself enthusiastic and relieved of the sentence.