ADIDAS LOSES STRIPES CASE

Sportswear giant Adidas has lost its trademark battle with luxury brand Thom Browne Inc.

Adidas tried to stop the luxury brand from using a design that features four stripes. The Adidas trademarked logo consists of three stripes.

In paperwork filed for the case, Adidas had planned to require more than $7.8 million in damages.

Thom Browne’s lawyer argued that he is the underdog taking on a huge corporation. They argued that the two brands served different customers.

A jury in New York sided with Thom Browne and refused the damages to be paid as they said there wasn’t any damage caused to the Adidas brand.

A spokesperson for the luxury brand told the Associated Press that the designer said he hoped the case would inspire others whose work is challenged by larger companies.

“It was important to fight and tell my story.”

This particular case was launched in 2021 already, but the two companies have been fighting over the stripes for more than 15 years.

The BBC reports that in 2007, Adidas complained that Thom Browne was using a three-stripe design on jackets. Browne agreed to stop using it and added a fourth stripe.

Older documents were used again in this court case. It showed that Adidas has launched more than 90 court battles and signed more than 200 settlement agreements since 2008. All of them are related to the brand’s trademark.

Image credit: NSS Magazine