shutterstock_2178767719_manuel_esteban
13 January 2023TrademarksMuireann Bolger

Adidas loses TM case over three-stripe logo

US designer offended at claims that he was trying to trade on the sportswear giant’s name | Jury found in favour of the argument that stripes cannot be owned.

US fashion designer Thom Browne has been handed a victory in his high-profile dispute with Adidas over the German sportswear giant’s ‘three-stripe’ logo.

The jury at a Manhattan court yesterday, January 12, found against claims that Browne had infringed or carried out trademark dilution.

During proceedings before the jurors, Browne’s counsel told jurors that Adidas does not own stripes and that the designer was "offended" by the suggestion that his brand wanted to trade on Adidas’ reputation.

Back in June 2021, the German sportswear company sued the designer at the US Court for the Southern District of New York, accusing Browne of selling “athletic-style apparel and footwear featuring two, three or four parallel stripes in a manner that is confusingly similar to Adidas’ three-stripe mark”.

According to Adidas, the allegedly infringing sportswear imitates its iconic mark in a manner that is likely to “deceive the public regarding its source, sponsorship, association, or affiliation”, and that Browne’s actions were “irreparably harming Adidas’ brand and its extremely valuable three-stripe mark”.

Ineligibility argument

In May 2022, Browne filed a counterclaim, arguing that the contested mark isn’t eligible for protection because third parties have designed and sold clothing, footwear, and fashion accessories featuring decorative stripes for decades.

The filing contended that consumers are accustomed to seeing stripes used on clothing sold by different manufacturers.

It further argued that because the design is merely ornamental and/or aesthetically functional, the mark is not likely to be perceived by the consuming public as an identification of the source of the goods.

“As a mark that is merely ornamental and/or aesthetically functional, the three-quadrilaterals design has not acquired secondary meaning as of the date of submission of this counterclaim and is not entitled to a federal trademark registration,” stated the filing.

Browne also criticised Adidas for achieving notoriety as an “overzealous enforcer” of its actual and perceived rights in its three-stripe mark.

In recent years Adidas sued others for alleged infringement of its three-stripe logo, including J.CrewForever 21, Skechers, Juicy Couture, Tesla, Marc Jacobs, Sears, Abercrombie & Fitch, Ralph Lauren and Target.

In a statement, an Adidas spokesperson said: "We are disappointed with the verdict and will continue to vigilantly enforce our intellectual property, including filing any appropriate appeals."

WIPR has approached Thom Browne for comment.

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox.

Today’s top stories

Botswana: a thirst for knowledge

Arbitration and mediation: keeping trade secrets disputes behind closed doors

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk


More on this story

Trademarks
27 October 2022   Adidas has ceased its partnership with the rapper after he proclaimed antisemitic sentiments. Holland & Hart lawyer Kazuyo Morita offers her views on the fallout.
Trademarks
1 July 2021   Adidas is suing US fashion designer Thom Browne for allegedly infringing the trademarks for its signature three stripe logo by using “confusing similar marks” on a sports apparel range.
Trademarks
30 March 2023   Sportswear brand retracts opposition to mark within 48 hours | Adidas had said Black Lives Matter’s mark was “confusingly similar” to its own | Gerben Intellectual Property.