Another week means yet another turn in Nike's lawsuit against its three former designers.
As things continue to intensify in the courtroom, Nike has issued new subpoenas for four adidas executives including North America head Mark King (pictured above). Although adidas is not directly involved in the lawsuit, Nike is hoping it will be able to uncover more information regarding the trade secrets it claims were lifted by former designers Denis Dekovic, Marc Dolce, and Mark Miner.
In December, at the beginning of the case, Nike successfully subpoenaed two lower-ranking adidas execs, but now the Swoosh is really cranking up the heat in hopes of finding incriminating info. Meanwhile, a lawyer representing the Three Stripes has asked for the subpoenas to be denied as they'd create "undue burden or expense" for the brand.
"adidas is not a party to this dispute. The lawsuit is not against adidas. While it's not a party to the dispute, the company has been cooperative and will continue to cooperate with every reasonable request from each side," said the attorney on Monday.
It could play out a few different ways from here. If Nike gets its wish, it will be able to depose adidas' top executives, however there's also the chance that the subpoenas will be rejected. Lastly, the subpoenas could be approved but placed under limitations which would keep Nike from having free reign over the questioning.
For more on the latest details of the case, head over to the Portland Business Journal.
