Jacobus Rentmeester is suing Nike in federal court in Oregon for copyright infringement. Not only is he asking for profits associated with the Jordan brand, which generated $3.2 billion in retail sales in 2014, but he also is seeking to halt current sales and plans for the brand's future. - DB, Lil LB's Dad

Ruh roh! - DB, Lil LB's Dad

This seems a stretch to me. (HA!) The photographer isn't Michael Jordan. Even if every claim the photographer makes in the article is true, they're not using his photo -- they're using a drawing of Michael Jordan doing a particular move, and many elements in the silhouette don't match up. The only person who should own the rights to a silhouette of Michael Jordan is Michael Jordan himself. You can't claim copyrights for poses or ballet moves. - Stephen Mack

That may be true but dude's still gonna get a fat settlement check from this. If I were him though I'd angle for some type of on-going royalty agreement. Do you know how much Jordan branded merchandise Nike sells in a year? - DB, Lil LB's Dad

I think he may have a case, considering Michael even states that it was Rentmeester who originally had him pose in that manner. It wasn't a coincidental shot, but a deliberate action for artistic value. https://donisdope.wordpress.com/2010... - OCoG of FF, Jimminy

I'm no lawyer but how is a pose copyrightable? - Stephen Mack

It's more than pose, you have same subject, same approximate pose, same use of off hand rather than primary. All of that and other factor's combine to create the piece. The image, that was created after and used for several years, before being silhouetted, could possibly attempt to claim derivative work, but that won't hold up because it takes nearly every bit of the prior work and doesn't modify it in any meaningful way. It is a photograph based on a photograph with the same subject and subject matter, used without permission of the copyright holder. And having Michael mention that the idea over the pose wasn't his, means that he doesn't have any creative interest nor is its creation in any way generic. - OCoG of FF, Jimminy

I'm sure Nike will settle this. The guy has what seems like a valid case. - DB, Lil LB's Dad