The nearly two-year-long legal battle between Nike and Kool Kiy has reached a conclusion.
Back in November 2022, the global sportswear brand filed a lawsuit in the southern district of New York alleging that By Kiy LLC's Nickwon Arvinger (aka Kool Kiy) was selling copycat versions of the Air Jordan 1 and Dunk as their own.
On May 15, both parties agreed to a settlement in favor of Nike, with news of the agreement first reported by @SneakerPhetish on X. In the confidential agreement, Kool Kiy is ordered to pay the brand $1 million. It's worth noting that Kool Kiy is still advertising the copycat shoes on his Instagram, which could suggest the confidential settlement agreement that came with the case's termination allows the designer to sell off his remaining products.
When reached for comment by Complex, Kool Kiy declined to comment on the litigation.
In the original lawsuit, Nike also took legal action against Bill Omar Carrasquillo of Reloaded Merch LLC (Omi aka “Omi in a Hellcat”) for allegedly “promoting, copying, and selling” Air Jordan 1 and Nike Dunk lookalikes. Last month, the court granted a default judgment to Nike, which ordered Omi to pay $8 million in damages.
