Nike "is accusing three of its former senior shoe designers of stealing its commercial secrets" and making off for German rival adidas, which announced in September the trio would staff its new urban footwear design studio in Brooklyn, according to Andrew Chung of REUTERS.
A lawsuit filed in Oregon where Nike is headquartered claims at least $10M in damages. Nike said that the former designers, Marc Dolce, Mark Miner, and Senior Design Dir Denis Dekovic, "started consulting for Adidas while still working at the company, violating their non-compete agreements."
An adidas representative said the company attracts top talent and has "no interest in old work or past assignments." Nike's spokesperson declined to comment further on the case, but said the company will "vigorously" protect its intellectual property. The suit accused the designers of "trying to hide their tracks by erasing incriminating emails and text messages from their work-issued cellphones and laptops."
Nike also claimed that adidas knew of the non-compete agreements and "promised to pay for any legal fallout" (REUTERS, 12/9).
