Nike 2009 Annual Report Download - page 9

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 9 of the 2009 Nike annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 105

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105

Trademarks and Patents
We utilize trademarks on nearly all of our products and believe that having distinctive marks that are readily
identifiable is an important factor in creating a market for our goods, in identifying the Company, and in
distinguishing our goods from the goods of others. We consider our NIKE®and Swoosh Design®trademarks to
be among our most valuable assets and we have registered these trademarks in over 150 countries. In addition,
we own many other trademarks that we utilize in marketing our products. We continue to vigorously protect our
trademarks against infringement.
NIKE has an exclusive, worldwide license to make and sell footwear using patented “Air” technology. The
process utilizes pressurized gas encapsulated in polyurethane. Some of the early NIKE AIR®patents have
expired, which may enable competitors to use certain types of similar technology. Subsequent NIKE AIR®
patents will not expire for several years. We also have hundreds of U.S. and foreign utility patents, and thousands
of U.S. and foreign design patents covering components and features used in various athletic and leisure shoes,
apparel, and equipment. These patents expire at various times, and patents issued for applications filed this year
will have a remaining duration of from now to 2023 for design patents, and from now to 2029 for utility patents.
We believe that our success depends primarily upon skills in design, research and development, production and
marketing rather than upon our patent position. However, we have followed a policy of filing applications for
United States and foreign patents on inventions, designs and improvements that we deem valuable.
Employees
We had approximately 34,300 employees at May 31, 2009. Management considers its relationship with
employees to be excellent. None of our employees is represented by a union, except for certain employees in the
Americas Region, where local law requires those employees to be represented by a trade union. Also, in some
countries outside of the United States, local laws require representation for employees by works councils (such as
in the European Union, in which they are entitled to information and consultation on certain Company decisions)
or other representation by an organization similar to a union, although collective bargaining agreements are not
involved. There has never been a material interruption of operations due to labor disagreements.
Executive Officers of the Registrant
The executive officers of NIKE as of July 24, 2009 are as follows:
Philip H. Knight, Chairman of the Board — Mr. Knight, 71, a director since 1968, is a co-founder of NIKE
and, except for the period from June 1983 through September 1984, served as its President from 1968 to 1990,
and from June 2000 to December 2004. Prior to 1968, Mr. Knight was a certified public accountant with Price
Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand and was an Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Portland State
University.
Mark G. Parker, Chief Executive Officer and President — Mr. Parker, 53, was appointed CEO and
President in January 2006. He has been employed by NIKE since 1979 with primary responsibilities in product
research, design and development, marketing, and brand management. Mr. Parker was appointed divisional
Vice President in charge of development in 1987, corporate Vice President in 1989, General Manager in 1993,
Vice President of Global Footwear in 1998, and President of the NIKE Brand in 2001.
David J. Ayre, Vice President, Global Human Resources — Mr. Ayre, 49, joined NIKE as Vice President,
Global Human Resources in July 2007. Prior to joining NIKE, he held a number of senior human resource
positions with PepsiCo, Inc. since 1990, most recently as head of Talent and Performance Rewards.
Donald W. Blair, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer — Mr. Blair, 51, joined NIKE in November
1999. Prior to joining NIKE, he held a number of financial management positions with PepsiCo, Inc., including
Vice President, Finance of Pepsi-Cola Asia, Vice President, Planning of PepsiCo’s Pizza Hut Division, and
7