Osborne Clarke (OC) has achieved victory for sports clothing brand LNDR in a trademark dispute with sportswear giant Nike. 

The dispute centred on Nike's use of the 'LNDR' lettering in its 'Nothing Beats a Londoner' advertising campaign, which was endorsed by famous names including Harry Kane and Mo Farah.

LNDR instructed OC head of IP disputes, Arty Rajendra, to seek an interim injunction at the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC), which required Nike to cease using 'LNDR' in its promotional material. The Court of Appeal upheld the injunction and Nike subsequently removed the advertising from its social media and TV campaigns. OC engaged Three New Square barrister Douglas Campbell QC for additional assistance in court. 

Nike argued the LNDR name was descriptive and the trademarks invalid, and therefore that no subsequent damage would occur, at the trial earlier this month.

Yesterday (25 July), the IPEC found in favour of LNDR, deciding that the 'LNDR' trademark was distinctive, would likely have led consumers to believing the three-year old sports brand collaborated with Nike, and therefore that Nike's ad campaign amounted to an infringement.

DLA Piper represented Nike, with its team led by IP litigation partner Ruth Hoy and assisted by 8 New Square silk James Abrahams QC.

Nike is yet to announce whether it intends to appeal the decision.