Copyright battle ensues over Jordan's 'Jumpman' silhouette

Inside IP Law

By William T. McGrath

William T. McGrath is a member of Davis, McGrath LLC, where he handles copyright, trademark and Internet-related litigation and counseling. He is also associate director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law at The John Marshall Law School. In 2013, he was honored with a Lisagor Award from the Chicago Headline Club. He can be contacted at wmcgrath@davismcgrath.com.

Posted April 22, 2015 2:47 PM

Who knew that the most famous image of the greatest basketball player of all time was inspired by a ballet move called a grand jete?The player, of course, is Michael Jordan, and the image is "Jumpman," the ubiquitous silhouette that can be seen on every pair of Air Jordan shoes.The Jumpman trademark has been part of Nike's multibillion-dollar-a-year basketball business since 1987, but now Jumpman's history faces a full-court press.The origin story is told in a copyright infringement lawsuit Jacobus …

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