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Nike Sues Mayor Rodrigo Duterte For Patent And Copyright Violation

The Duterte campaign logo
The Duterte campaign logo

BEAVERTON, Oregon (The Adobo Chronicles, San Francisco Bureau) – Philippine presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte may be gaining popularity and momentum in his quest to be his country’s next president, but he is now in big trouble.

Duterte and his campaign team are being sued by the multinational sports apparel company Nike for copyright infringement and violation of the U.S. Patent and Trademark laws.

It has to do with a newly-released Duterte campaign logo which mimics Nike’s popular ‘Just Do It’ advertising campaign.

U.S. patent laws prohibit any individual or company to copy or use registered trademarks like the Nike logo and advertising meme.  If convicted, Duterte and his campaign team face a fine of up to $1 Million or imprisonment of three years, or both.

So our advice to the campaign teams of Philippine presidential candidates, think twice and do your research before just doing it.