By Oregon Small Business Association Foundation

A lawsuit charging Nike with copyright infringement has been dismissed in federal court. Photographer Jacobus Rentmeester filed the suit in January, claiming Nike used the pose in his copyrighted image of Michael Jordan when they created their Jumpman logo. Rentmeester shot the original photo for a LIFE Magazine Special Issue previewing the 1984 Summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles. In 1985, Nike paid him for a limited license to use the image.

In his decision to grant Nike’s motion to dismiss the case, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman wrote that Rentmeester had “failed to show that he can satisfy the requisite objective test for copyright infringement,” noting differences in the shots. Rentmeester’s attorneys have filed an appeal with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

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