EVH Sues Nike: Dunk design infringes on guitar?

Eddie Van Halen is suing Nike, claiming the Beaverton boys infringed upon his trademark black/red-white design when they created a Nike Dunk with similar stylings on the midsole. ELVH (Eddie Van Halen’s company) is seeking financial damages and destruction of the shoes. For their part Nike says the shoe is not significantly similar to the ELVH design, they haven’t used the Van Halen name in any branding/marketing efforts and the lawsuit has no merit.

I find this whole situation very irritating. The “logo” doesn’t seem all that unique, so claiming that the inch-and-a-half tall design on the midsole is infringing upon the trademark that covers Eddie’s entire guitar is a bit much. It just seems like Eddie’s not selling records these days, and rather than getting a job at Subway to make ends meet he’d rather ask Nike to pay his bills. And isn’t this something of a slippery slope for him? His ELVH brand shoe—which looks nothing like the “Van Halen” Nike Dunk—is below and has an eerie similarity to the Nike-owned Converse All-Star. Significantly moreso than the Nike Dunk does to the Van Halen guitar.

Pictures from EVHGear.com and The Press Play Show.

Eddie Van Halen Shoes