Adidas loses three-stripe trademark battle
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The reading
Sportswear giant Adidas has lost a courtroom battle over a perceived infringement of its trademark three-stripe logo. Adidas lodged a complaint against the American luxury fashion brand Thom Browne, which uses a four-stripe logo on its clothes. Adidas claimed the four stripes were too similar to its three stripes and filed a lawsuit. It attempted to claim more than $7.8 million in damages. However, a jury in a Manhattan court decided in Thom Browne's favour. It declared that the four stripes did not infringe on Adidas' logo or reputation. Jurors decided that consumers were unlikely to confuse the two brands, as they were capable of distinguishing between three and four parallel stripes.
Thom Browne is a New York-based fashion house founded in 2001. It caters to the high-end fashion market and has collaborated with many top names in the world of luxury apparel. The brand made a name for itself in 2020 by designing a scarf as part of Joe Biden's "Believe in Better" fashion collection. The dispute with Adidas dates back 16 years. Browne used a three-stripe design on a jacket in 2007. After Adidas protested, Browne switched to a four-stripe pattern. Thom Browne maintained that confusion between the two designs was unlikely because the two companies "operate in different markets, serve different customers, and offer their products at strikingly different prices".
Sources:
- https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/adidas-thom-browne-verdict/index.html
- https://www.ndtv.com/feature/adidas-loses-stripe-trademark-battle-to-luxury-designer-thom-browne-3690735
- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64261616
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