In June 2004, Zhu filed a lawsuit against
Nike for plagiarizing his cartoon stickmen in their commercials. Nike's representatives denied the accusations, claiming that the stickman figure lacks originality, and is public domain. Zhu eventually won the
lawsuit, claiming his copyright on his style and not the stickman, and Nike was ordered to pay $36,000 to the
cartoonist. Nike stated it would appeal the suit in the
Beijing High People's Court. After winning the suit, Nike stated "This was never a commercial issue for us. It was a matter of principle." ==References==