Nike has filed a $1 million lawsuit against Ralph Lauren and Matthew Millward, vice president of men's design for Club Monaco and a former design director at Nike, accusing the two parties of breach of contract and tortious interference. According to Nike, Millward is being compensated by Ralph Lauren during the year in which he is legally prohibited to work for competing companies, and Ralph Lauren is intentionally interfering with the non-compete agreement by employing Millward. He worked for Nike as a senior design director in its men's sportswear division for three years until Oct. 6, 2015, and then accepted a job as vice president of men's design for Ralph Lauren's Club Monaco brand beginning about a month later,. According to Nike, Millward was a highly compensated designer when he worked at the” Swoosh and was given access to the company's most sensitive trade secrets and other confidential and proprietary business information, including detailed product designs. This is especially significant, Nike says, considering that many of the products are still in the planning phase and have not yet reached the market. The styles in question include a Tech Thermal Full Zip sweater, Tech Half Zip Hoodie, Bonded Crew, Flannel Jogger and Woven Trim Sweatpants by Club Monaco and a Reigning Champ Hybrid Bomber. These pieces allegedly share similar designs, similar names and similar product descriptions to the Nike products. Nike further states that it has given notice to both Millward and Ralph Lauren of the breach of contract but they both have chosen to continue violating Nike's legal rights. In 2014 Nike filed a $10 million lawsuit for a similar reason against Denis Dekovic, Marc Dolce and Mark Miner, its former senior shoe designers, who left the company for Adidas. The two parties reached an out-of-court settlement in June 2015.

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