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Warren Lotas Responds to Nike Lawsuit with ‘Reaper’ Sneaker

Warren Lotas reaper chainsaw sneaker

Well, this is awkward… LA-based creative Warren Lotas says he will be releasing a Reaper sneaker in a ‘Chainsaw’ colourway as a replacement for his recently cancelled Dunk ‘reinterpretations’. ICYMI, Nike recently filed a case against Lotas through the US District Court for the Central District of California regarding his infringement of protected intellectual property.

Causing quite the stir, Lotas borrowed the look of the famed ‘Pigeon’, ‘Stussy Cherry’, ‘Heineken’, and ‘Jason Voorhees’ Nike SB Dunk colourways, modifying the iconic Swoosh with a Voorhees-style mask.

Taking to Instagram, Lotas shared his feelings on the lawsuit, and outlined the reason behind his latest drop.

I’d like to thank this situation for leading us into the next generation of WL… The ‘Chainsaw’ colourway will only be offered as a replacement to customers who ordered either the Chanclas or Pigeons and will NEVER be released publicly. If you don’t accept the substitution, we will refund your order. We tried to reach an early resolution with Nike and basically complied with everything they wanted, but we believe they are making unnecessary demands in order to intimidate other small businesses from exercising their creative freedom in the future. Look at it closely. Regardless of our actions, we believe Nike’s claims, such as supposedly owning colour combinations and functional, run-of-the-mill design elements, hurt everyone if we don’t push back. We believe they are using this lawsuit to suffocate small brands, customisers, and artists, not just WL. Even if you hate us, you need to understand the precedent this will set for creating as the little guy.

We expect there’s more to come from this saga… Stay tuned!

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