Adidas makes ‘highly unusual’ U-turn on opposition to Black Lives Matter TM

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.

Adidas has withdrawn an opposition to a trademark application by the Black Lives Matter movement less than 48 hours after filing it.

In its notice of opposition filed on Monday, March 27, Adidas said the three-stripes design in Black Lives Matter’s trademark was “confusingly similar” to its own three-stripe mark, and likely to cause consumers to assume that products bearing Black Lives Matter’s (BLM) trademark were affiliated or connected with Adidas.

The goods and services identified in Classes 18, 25 and 35 of the application, which include bags, clothing and headwear, were identical or highly related to the products that Adidas has “long offered in connection with the three-stripe mark”, the firm said in the filing.

However, in a move that one trademark attorney told WIPR was “highly unusual”, Adidas withdrew the suit on Wednesday, March 29. In a statement, the company said the firm would “withdraw its opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s trademark application as soon as possible”, without further explanation for the U-turn.

‘PR ramifications’

WIPR spoke to Josh Gerben, trademark attorney and founder of Gerben Intellectual Property in the US. He said the scenario was “not something we see”.

“Before you file something, you need to be aware of who you’re filing against. And you need to think about not just the legal but the potential practical or public relations ramifications,” he explained.