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by Brendan Dunne
The former Nike designers who left for adidas and were subsequently hit with a $10 million lawsuit have filed their response to the sportswear giant's allegations against them.
Marc Dolce, Denis Dekovic, and Mark Miner say, via the counterclaims, that "the Nike corporate culture was stifling their creativity." The filing, posted today by Portland Business Journal, also cites the designers' distaste for the relationship between Nike's executives and its creative types as a reason for their departure.
The designers insist that they did not steal or distribute trade secrets, as was alleged in Nike's lawsuit. "The Designers are not interested in and will not use old Nike designs or old Nike ideas in their new venture," reads the filing. It continues, "None of the Designers has ever passed any trade secret information to adidas or any other competitor."
The counterclaim on behalf of ex-Nike designers Dolce, Dekovic, and Miner appears in its entirety below.
