Tyga & MSCHF Lose ‘Wavy Baby’ Legal Battle With Vans

Tyga and streetwear brand MSCHF’s 2022 “Wavy Baby” sneaker collaboration likely violates Vans’ company trademarks based on a new ruling from a federal appeals court.

On Tuesday (December 6), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a ruling from April 2022 that banned MSCHF from future sales of the Wavy Baby. MSCHF previously claimed their creation was a parody of the iconic Vans logo and protected by First Amendment speech and that the shoe was a legal parody designed to “consumerism inherent in sneakerhead culture.” However, according to the ruling, “no special First Amendment protections apply” to the sneaker, as MSCHF previously argued, thus the shoes infringe on Vans’ trademark rights.

“If a parodic use of protected marks and trade dress leaves confusion as to the source of a product, the parody has not ‘succeeded’ for purposes of the [federal trademark law], and the infringement is unlawful,” the court wrote.

Vans also previously argued that not only did the Wavy Baby sneaker infringe on their trademarks, but it also could potentially mislead their consumers into believing it was a product associated with their brand. The base of the claim was in their previous partnerships with A$AP Rocky, Metallica and other artists.

“Given Vans’ history of collaborations with musical artists, on information and belief, the collaboration between MSCHF and Michael Stevenson “[Tyga] is intended to deceive consumers into believing they are purchasing a product made by, sponsored by, approved by, or otherwise associated with Vans,” the company’s lawyers wrote at the time.

At the time the lawsuit was filed in 2022, Tyga and MSCHF had already sold 4,306 pairs of the Wavy Baby sneaker—from which all the proceeds from the sales were placed into escrow for potential returns. This new ruling effectively bans MSCHF from future sales of the sneaker.