A judge in California has passed NBA star Kawhi Leonard’s suit against Nike to federal court in Oregon, granting the sportswear company’s motion for a change of venue.

Leonard sued Nike in the middle of the NBA finals in June, contending the company unlawfully copyrighted his “Klaw’’ personal logo that he says he conceived and created in college, drawing on his large hands, his jersey number and initials. He filed the suit in federal court in Southern California.

Nike filed a countersuit against Leonard, arguing that it holds exclusive rights to the claw logo created by its “talented team of designers’’ and that its logo is distinct from a design that Leonard sketched and provided to the company.

The sportswear company admitted Leonard had forwarded the company a “rough draft’’ sketch of a hand that incorporated his initials “KL’’ and his jersey number “2,’’ but contends Leonard then approved one of the proposed designs that Nike created in June 2014 as part of his contract. The contract lasted from October 2011 through September 2018.

Lawyers for Nike cited a clause in the company’s agreement with Leonard that said any dispute arising from it would be litigated "in a Court of competent jurisdiction within the State of Oregon.” The copyrighted logo was created during the term of the Nike agreement with Leonard, Nike’s lawyers said.

Leonard’s attorneys, though, argued that provision doesn’t apply to their dispute over the logo because Leonard created the design in 2011 or 2012, before he signed an agreement with Nike.

The court sided with Nike.

“The Court finds that this suit ‘arises under’ the Nike Agreement, as the whole point of the Complaint is to seek a declaration as to who owns the copyrighted logo, which was ultimately created and copyrighted during the term of the Nike Agreement,’’ U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant of the Southern District of California wrote.

Though Leonard argued that his “significant ties to Southern California’’ should keep the case in court there, the judge found that didn’t rise to a substantial local interest that would outweigh the terms of the agreement with Nike.

“No party disputes that Leonard shared his hand-drawn design with Nike during the design process, and somehow through collaboration, the copyrighted logo was created. But Nike distinguishes the two designs, opining that while Leonard is free to use his hand-drawn logo as he pleases, Nike owns the copyrighted logo,’’ Bashant wrote in her ruling.

The case now is assigned to Oregon’s U.S. District Chief Judge Michael W. Mosman.

Nike is alleging copyright infringement and breach of contract against Leonard, who led the Toronto Raptors to the NBA championship and then signed with the LA Clippers. The company accuses Leonard of “reproducing’’ its claw design on non-Nike apparel during the NBA finals in violation of Nike’s exclusive copyright.

According to a footnote in Bashant’s ruling, Leonard has since applied for and received registration of two trademarks “consisting of, and inspired by, Leonard’s creation of the Leonard Logo, one an image of his hand, his initials and jersey number and a second logo based upon letters and numbers corresponding to Leonard’s initials and jersey number.”

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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