A photographer is accusing Nike of violating the copyright of his 1984 image of Michael Jordan soaring toward a basketball hoop by continuing to use the image to market shoes and clothes.

Jacobus Rentmeester filed suit against Nike on Thursday in the federal court in Portland, Oregon. He is seeking unspecified monetary damages.

Rentmeester shot the photo for Life magazine, and Nike later paid him $US150 ($A186) for temporary use of two transparencies.

The famous jumpman logo has been used everywhere. Photo: Getty

According to the complaint, Nike produced a nearly identical photograph of Jordan and reproduced it on billboards.

When Rentmeester protested, the company paid him $US15,000 to use the image for two years.

The complaint says Nike has continued to reproduce the photo and used it to create the Jumpman logo.

Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment.