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The Intellectual Property StrategistFeaturesCopyrightsIntellectual PropertyLitigationTrademarks

Not Your Property, Your Business: When Customized Products Become the Business of Rights Holders and Courts

By Chidera Anyanwu and Chloe Delehanty
May 01, 2021

Customized designer products (Customs) are popular resale items that are seemingly always on trend. Customs can be a fun and creative way to show enthusiasm for a product or brand and are often welcomed by fashion houses, which may even collaborate with creators to come up with unique designs. Collaborations such as that between the Italian luxury brand Gucci and Harlem-based fashion icon Dapper Dan have been lucrative and have allowed brands to reach consumers who may not have otherwise been exposed to the brand.

Fashion houses are more likely to object to Customs when nude women, satanic imagery or controversial statements appear on them. Recent litigation arising from Nike's fervent opposition to singer Lil' Nas X's "Satan Shoe," a customized Nike sneaker offered for resale, begs the question:

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