Federal Copyright Lawsuit Alleges Nike, Converse and Timberland Copied Sculptural Footwear Works Created by East Village Artists Beginning in 1992; Plaintiffs Intend to Seek Up to $120 Million



NORWALK, CT, October 27, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- More than three decades after two immigrant artists began transforming ordinary sneakers and boots into radical sculptural footwear at a tiny Manhattan shoe-repair shop, their fight over who owns that artistic expression has reached federal court.

Mark M. Kratter, Boris Zuborev and Eugene Finkelberg have brought a federal copyright action against Nike, Inc., Converse, Inc., TBL Licensing LLC d/b/a Timberland, and Nordstrom, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. The case is No. 3:26-cv-01804-KAD. Public docket records confirm that the copyright action was filed October 16, 2026.

The First Amended Complaint alleges that six sculptural footwear works created beginning in 1992 by Boris Zuborev and Eugene Finkelberg at East Village Shoe Repair were later copied and commercialized through footwear sold by major global brands. The defendants have not been adjudicated liable, and the allegations remain to be determined by the court.

The plaintiffs say they intend to seek up to $120 million in actual damages and profits attributable to any proven infringement, subject to discovery, proof and the remedies permitted by law.

But the case contains an unusual twist that could separate it from the typical fashion copyright dispute: the plaintiffs allege that Converse had direct knowledge of the creative world from which these designs emerged.

FROM ST. MARK'S PLACE TO GLOBAL FASHION

East Village Shoe Repair began in Manhattan in 1992. The creators' Copyright Office submission describes Boris Zuborev as having attended art school in Belarus and Eugene Finkelberg as having trained at a shoemaker school in Russia before the two established East Village Shoe Repair and began experimentally transforming mass-produced footwear.

The six works now at the center of the federal lawsuit include a moccasin-sneaker hybrid; a sneaker featuring an elevated, sculpturally treated sole; a sneaker combining a central zipper with nonfunctional faux eyelets; a faux-fur sneaker; an elongated knee/thigh-high sneaker-boot with ornamental faux lacing and zipper entry; and a transformed high-heel work boot.

The plaintiffs are not claiming ownership of ordinary sneakers, boots, zippers, laces, fur, heels or other commonplace footwear elements standing alone. Their complaint claims copyright protection in original sculptural expression created through the particular selection, coordination, arrangement, proportions, ornamentation, textures, contours and visual relationships embodied in the completed works.

THEN CONVERSE CAME CALLING

The historical connection between Boris Zuborev and Converse is not based solely on allegations in the new lawsuit.

In 2018, i-D reported on a MadeMe and Converse project featuring Boris Zuborev operating behind a shoe-repair counter at a pop-up. The article described Zuborev's association with East Village Shoe Repair and the shop's history in New York's club scene.

PAPER Magazine also reported in 2018 that Converse had enlisted Boris Zuborev in connection with the MadeMe collaboration, describing Zuborev as the creator of giant platform shoes associated with New York's 1990s club scene.

That history gives the lawsuit's allegations of access an unusual backdrop. The First Amended Complaint additionally alleges that, before the later Martine Ali x Converse release, designer Martine Ali personally visited Boris Zuborev at the Bushwick studio, allegedly providing direct access to the elongated sneaker-boot identified in the litigation as Work 5. That allegation has not yet been adjudicated.

SIX WORKS. THREE DECADES. ONE QUESTION.

When independent artists transform an ordinary commercial product into original sculpture, can substantially similar artistic expression later be commercialized by multinational companies without compensating the creators?

The plaintiffs say the Copyright Act protects the original expression embodied in their works.

The First Amended Complaint asserts infringement claims against Nike, Converse and Timberland; a copyright claim against Nordstrom limited to alleged sales and distribution; and a claim for declaratory relief concerning the copyrightability and ownership of the six works.

The complaint seeks actual damages, profits attributable to proven infringement, temporary and permanent injunctive relief, impoundment and disposition where authorized, and other relief available under the Copyright Act. It limits its requests for statutory damages and attorneys' fees to the extent those remedies are available under applicable law.

Based upon the scope of commercial activity the plaintiffs intend to examine through discovery, the plaintiffs intend to seek up to $120 million in damages and attributable profits if supported by the evidence and permitted by law.

THE COPYRIGHT BATTLE

Before bringing the present infringement action, the artists sought copyright registration for the six sculptural footwear works.

Their Second Request for Reconsideration, dated October 27, 2025, argues that the works possess original and conceptually separable sculptural expression and contains extensive photographic and documentary material concerning the six works.

The First Amended Complaint alleges that the Copyright Office maintained its refusal to register the works and that the plaintiffs dispute the Office's originality determination. The complaint now asks the federal court for, among other things, a declaration that the claimed sculptural expression is original and copyrightable and that the plaintiffs own copyrights in the works.

"WE WERE CREATING THIS ART BEFORE IT BECAME BIG BUSINESS"

"This case isn't about claiming ownership of a sneaker, a zipper, a piece of fur or a high heel. It is about who created the artistic expression. Boris and Eugene were transforming ordinary footwear into sculpture in New York beginning in 1992. Decades later, some of the world's largest footwear companies marketed products that we allege reproduce that expression. We intend to use discovery to find out what happened, who had access, what was made from these products, and whether these artists are finally going to be compensated. If the evidence supports it, we intend to seek up to $120 million."

- Mark M. Kratter, Plaintiff and Counsel

The plaintiffs' claims are allegations. No court has determined that Nike, Converse, Timberland or Nordstrom infringed the plaintiffs' asserted copyrights, and the defendants are entitled to contest the allegations.

ABOUT THE CASE

Mark M. Kratter, Boris Zuborev and Eugene Finkelberg v. Nike, Inc., Converse, Inc., TBL Licensing LLC d/b/a Timberland, and Nordstrom, Inc.

United States District Court, District of Connecticut
Civil Action No. 3:26-cv-01804-KAD

MEDIA CONTACT

Mark M. Kratter
Law Offices of Mark M. Kratter, LLC
71 East Avenue, Suite K
Norwalk, Connecticut 06851
203-853-2312
[email protected]

Law Offices of Mark M. Kratter, LLC is a Connecticut law firm based in Norwalk. The firm represents clients in civil litigation and other legal matters and serves as counsel in the federal copyright action described in this release.

Read the original story here: https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/539962/artists-sue-nike-converse-timberland-and-nordstrom-over-alleged-copying-of-sculptural-footwear-designs-created-in-1992

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