Long Division

or

Nike V. Minor Threat:

A Case Study in Intellectual Property Infringement

V.

“Just do it.”Nike advertising slogan.

“You are not what you own.”Ian MacKaye, singer and guitarist for Minor Threat, and Fugazi, founder of

Dischord Records.

Nike is the Greek goddess of Victory.

Eris is the Greek goddess of Strife. Her Latinized name is Discordia. She is

sometimes also referred to as Discord.

Nike Inc was founded by Philip Knight and Bill Bowerman in 1964,

in Beaverton, OR.

Pop. 84,000 (2006)

Minor Threat was founded by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson in 1980, in Washington D.C. They founded Dischord Records the same year as a means to record, manufacture and release their

own records as well as others of the D.C area hardcore punk

scene.

Pop. 581,500 (2006)

One of Nike’s first products was its “waffle racer”. Many top

Oregon runners began wearing the shoes, and the shoe's popularity

grew quickly.

Dischord Records’ first release was Minor Threat’s First 7”. It is now

regarded as one of the most important records by any punk band of the

period.

Nike is now the world’s largest manufacturer and retailer of running shoes and sports apparel. As well, it has contracted lucrative endorsement deals with many of the world’s top

professional athletes, including Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer and Tiger

Woods.

Dischord Records is one of the most successful independent records labels in the world. They have released over 200 records, CDs, books and DVDs over more than twenty-five years by

many influential artists including Minor Threat, Rites of Spring, and

Fugazi.

In 2007, Nike’s revenue from sales is expected to exceed $16 billion. Surviving founder Philip Knight has reached #30 on

Forbes Magazine’s list of richest Americans. He recently donated $105

million to Stanford Business School- the largest single donation ever given to a

business program.

In June, 1995 Dischord Records released Fugazi’s Red Medicine LP. It would go

on to reach #126 on Billboard Magazine’s Top 200 releases for that month.

Founder Ian MacKaye owns his own house and is regarded as a legend in

underground music. He played at the New Maryland Rec Centre in Fredericton, NB

with Fugazi in July, 1998.

Nike Inc has been criticized for hiring labour overseas at below subsistence-level wages to work in sweatshop-like

conditions.

Dischord Records founder Ian MacKaye has been criticized for the “straight-edge”

philosophy espoused in Minor Threat lyrics. The term he coined eventually

made its way into the dictionary:

Straight-edge: adj. Advocating abstinence from alcohol, cigarettes,

drugs, sex and sometimes advocating vegetarianism.

Dictionary.com

In March, 2002, Nike Inc introduced its Nike Skateboarding (Nike SB) line of

apparel.

In October, 2002, Dischord Records released its 20 Years of Dischord boxed

set.

In June, 2005, Nike Skateboarding created an advertising campaign entitled “Major Threat” to promote an American tour of pro-skateboarders. The flyer used

to promote this event bears a striking similarity to the cover of three releases by

Minor Threat.

“What the hell were they thinking?” Ian MacKaye wrote in an email to

MTV news."To set the record straight — Nike

never contacted Dischord, nor Minor Threat, to obtain permission to use

this imagery, nor was any permission granted. Simply put, Nike stole it and we're not happy about it. We are not yet sure what actions, if any, we can

take to stop this campaign.”

Various media outlets have pointed out that while Ian has the right to be angry about the misappropriation of his band’s imagery, Nike sneakers have featured prominently in the liner notes of Minor Threat’s Complete Discography LP for a number of years…

In late June, Nike retracted the ads and issued a formal apology to Dischord.

The company says the tour poster was not created by its advertising agency, but rather

by "skateboarders, for skateboarders."

The case was eventually settled out of court. Neither Nike Inc, nor Dischord

Records have made any comment pertaining to the terms of the

settlement to the media.

We owe you nothing. / You have no control.

Fugazi

ResourcesBeach, Richard, et al (2006). Teaching literature to adolescents. Mahwah, NJ:

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Dictionary.com has one entry for the term “straight-edge”, accessed 10/14/2007:http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/straight%20edge

Dischord Records online, accessed 10/13/07:http://www.dischord.com/

Fugazi, Instrument Soundtrack, Dischord Records #120Forbes Magazine’s profile on Nike co-founder Philip Knight, accessed 10/14/07:

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/54/richlist07_Philip-Knight_2KZ5.html Government of New Brunswick Curriculum Document, accessed 10/12/07:

http://www.gnb.ca/0000/publications/curric/englangartshs.pdfHollywood Punk website, accessed 10/12/07:http://www.hollywoodpunk.com/minor-threat/Mother Jones website, accessed 10/13/07:

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1997/11/nike_gallery.htmlMTV’s report on the apology by Nike, accessed 10/14/07:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1504875/20050628/index.jhtml?headlines=trueNike website pertaining to the origin of the “swoosh” logo, accessed 10/13/07:

http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/nikebiz.jhtml?page=5&item=originNike Skateboarding, accessed 10/13/07:

http://www.nike.com/nikeskateboarding/v3/#

Nike Skateboarding letter of apology, accessed 10/14/07:http://www.nike.com/nikeskateboarding/v2/letter/index.html

Pitchfork Media’s coverage of the apology, accessed 10/14/07:http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/34836-nike-pulls-major-threat-ad-issues-

apologyRolling Stone Magazine online has a profile of Fugazi, accessed 10/13/07:

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/fugaziShots of vintage Nike Waffle Racer, accessed 10/14/07:

http://www.size-online.co.uk/product.asp?id=4038Spin Magazine online has an interview with the founders of Dischord Records,

accessed 10/13/07:http://www.spin.com/features/magazine/2003/06/dischord_records_out_step_world/

Theoi Greek Mythology online, accessed 10/14/07:http://www.theoi.com/

VH1 story on Nike V. Minor Threat, accessed 10/14/07:http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1504742/20050627/minor_threat.jhtml?

headlines=trueWikipedia has entries on Minor Threat, Nike Inc and the infringement dispute,

accessed 10/13/07:http://wikipedia.org/

Thanks.