Adidas opposes another US trademark
German sportswear company Adidas has opposed another trademark at the US Patent and Trademark Office, claiming that the mark infringes Adidas’s ‘three-stripe’ mark.
The allegedly infringing mark, which contains the words ‘3 gold bars’ below three horizontal lines, was filed by Dagoberto Sanchez in May 2016 and covers international class 25 (t-shirts, caps and sweatshirts).
The mark was published in May this year, and Adidas filed its opposition on Monday, October 30.
According to the claim, Adidas has used the ‘three-stripe’ mark on its footwear in the US since 1952, and on other apparel since 1967.
Adidas also said that its marks have been used in connection with the sponsorship of artists such as Katy Perry, Selena Gomez and Kanye West.
“The ‘three-stripe’ mark is nonfunctional, and the public recognises and understands that the ‘three-stripe’ mark distinguishes and identifies Adidas’s merchandise,” said the opposition.
The ‘3 gold bars’ mark is “confusingly similar” to the Adidas’s mark “in appearance and overall commercial impression”, Adidas claimed, adding that the goods identified are identical and/or closely related to the goods Adidas has offered.
Sanchez must answer the opposition by December 9.
Adidas’s mark has been at the centre of numerous trademark oppositions in the US, including a dispute with Spanish professional football club FC Barcelona.
In March, the football club backed down from the quarrel and abandoned its US trademark application for a mark described as a “square containing seven vertical stripes”.
Adidas has also been in a bitter dispute with retailer Forever 21 about the companies use of stripes on its clothing.
Forever 21 attacked the sportswear company in a declaratory judgment claim filed in March, and Adidas hit back in July.
“Exacerbating matters, Forever 21 also recently offered counterfeit Adidas products for sale on its website (forever21.com), under the false and misleading label ‘Repurposed Adidas’ products,” said Adidas.
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