Companies

An inventor has sued Nike Inc., claiming that the manufacturing giant swiped his air-cushion sole invention when it marketed the Air Jordan sneaker. Charles Petrosky, 73, of Arlington, Va., filed suit in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, seeking royalties and penalties from Nike. Petrosky’s lawyer said his client patented an air-cushion sole in 1978 and tried to sell the idea to Nike long before it first marketed the Air Jordan in the 1980s. Nike’s representatives said its Air Jordan and Air Max shoes bear little resemblance to the air-cushion sole patented by Petrosky.