An iconic Nike logo of a leaping Michael Jordan that the company has used to market billions of dollars of merchandise didn't violate the copyright of an earlier photograph of the basketball star, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The logo was based on a photograph taken by someone Nike hired. That photo was "obviously inspired" by a 1984 photo by Jacobus Rentmeester, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said. But the court in a 2-1 decision said the photos are unmistakably different in key elements.
Both show Jordan leaping with his legs extended outward toward a basketball hoop with a ball above his head.
Nike used its photo for the "Jumpman" logo — a silhouetted image of Jordan in the leaping pose in its photograph.
Rentmeester photographed Jordan while he played at the University of North Carolina. His photograph appeared in Life Magazine in a photo essay featuring U.S. athletes competing in the 1984 Summer Olympics More