The U.S. Supreme Court has backed Nike in a trademark case involving a much smaller company, Already LLC, the maker of Yums sneakers. The litigation involved the trademark for Nike's Air Force 1 sneakers. In 2009, sued Already, saying that the company's Sugar and Soulja Boy shoes infringed on its Air Force 1 trademark, specifically regarding the stitching and eyelet panels among other features. Already countersued to void the trademark. Nike then dropped its lawsuit and promised, in the form of a covenant, not to assert its trademark rights against any Yums products, thinking Already wasn't a commercial threat. Already continued with its countersuit and accused Nike of dropping its action to deprive courts of jurisdiction. In November 2011, a Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that Already couldn't continue its legal action, backing Nike's argument that there was no longer any controversy as it had promised not to sue Already. The Supreme Court affirmed this decision, saying that allowing the lawsuit to continue would encourage companies both large and small to use litigation as a “weapon” rather than as a last resort to settle disputes, and that this could discourage innovation, according to Reuters. Though the court noted that in this case the small competitor would benefit, opening the doors to such actions would lower the bar for large companies as well, who could litigate not because of a specific case of trademark infringement, but just to hinder their competition.

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