
In 1984 at a photo shoot for the U.S. Olympic team, basketball met ballet. That’s when a 21-year-old player from the University of North Carolina was asked to leap toward the basket, ball in hand, and perform a grand jeté—the classic ballet move where a dancer jumps and spreads their legs wide. That young man was Michael Jordan, and his pose would go on to become the logo for the $6 billion brand that, to this day, bears his name.
Main Idea: Photographer Jacobus “Co” Rentmeester says Nike used his Michael Jordan photo as the basis for the Air Jordan logo without giving him fair credit or lasting payment.
Key Points:
Nike’s long legal fight over the Air Jordan image can leave consumers and small creators worried that big brands can use creative work without fair pay or credit.
Public attention to the dispute may push companies to respect artists more and make licensing deals clearer.
Rate how each entity in this article affected the American people.
Photographer making the core allegation that Nike copied his work and snookered him out of credit.
Central company accused of using the photograph as the basis for the Air Jordan logo.
The logo and brand at the center of the copying dispute.
Photographer of the later Nike-commissioned shoot that Rentmeester alleges was derived from his image.
The iconic athlete whose pose became the Air Jordan logo and is central to the dispute.
Advertising agency involved in handling Rentmeester’s photo for Nike-related use.
Appellate court whose ruling was left standing in Rentmeester’s case.
The court declined to reopen Rentmeester’s appeal, making it part of the legal outcome.
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Sign in to commentMentioned as a comparison in another logo-copying allegation.
The company whose logo was cited as being similar to Airbnb’s.
Mentioned only as the sneaker brand Jordan wore in Rentmeester’s original photograph.