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22 June 2017Patents

Puma fails to stop Adidas selling Stan Smith shoes in Germany

Puma has withdrawn its request for a preliminary injunction against Adidas over its Stan Smith trainer.

The case was heard at the Regional Court of Braunschweig on Monday, June 19.

Puma’s request was based on the allegation that the sole of the Stan Smith Boost infringed two of Puma’s registered Community designs, in a complaint filed in April of this year.

The court ruled against Puma, and found that the Adidas model does not infringe Puma’s designs.

Puma subsequently withdrew its request for an injunction which, if granted, would have seen Adidas banned from selling and manufacturing the model in Germany.

“After preliminary consideration, the board stated that the attacked footwear model did not infringe the applicant’s European designs,” the court said in a statement.

Adidas created the Stan Smith trainer in 1972, naming it after the US tennis player, who won the Wimbledon Championships that year.

The dispute was the latest in a string of court cases between the two, including in February when Adidas sued Puma for trademark infringement relating to the three-stripe mark on a football boot.

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Trademarks
21 February 2017   Adidas has always fought to protect its ‘three-stripe’ trademark against others and, in its latest lawsuit, the company has taken on rival Puma.