High court won’t referee dispute over Michael Jordan images
Posted Mar 25, 2019 10:56:16 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court says it won’t referee a dispute between Nike and a photographer who took a famous image of basketball great Michael Jordan.
The high court declined Monday to hear the copyright case brought by photographer Jacobus Rentmeester.
Rentmeester took a famous photograph of Jordan for Life magazine in 1984. It shows Jordan holding a basketball and leaping toward a basketball hoop. Nike later commissioned a new image that is inspired by Rentmeester’s photo. The logo for Nike’s Air Jordan shoes, called the “Jumpman Logo,” is based off Nike’s photo.
Rentmeester sued Nike in 2015 saying it had violated copyright law. The Supreme Court’s decision not to take the case means lower court rulings against Rentmeester will stand.
The Associated Press
