“Each party in the Adidas lawsuit has previously treaded the other company’s supposed commercial arena. Adidas partnered with Gucci to create a $3,000 duffel bag…[while] Tom Brown partnered with Football Club Barcelona to create the club’s regular game jersey. “
Adidas 3-Stripes logo (top) and Thom Browne grosgrain RWB stripes.
Aggressive IP litigation involvement by global companies is a cornerstone of trademark enforcement and adidas is well aware of this strategy. Since 2008, the athleisure accessory maker has consistently protected its intellectual property by signing over 200 settlement agreements and fighting over 90 legal battles.
Most recently, on January 12, 2023, Adidas’ efforts to sue Zegna subsidiary Thom Browne Inc. for trademark infringement of the “three-stripes logo” were blocked. A claim for damages of around $7.8 million (£6.4 million) backfired on the German sportswear giant when it was dismissed by an eight-member Manhattan jury.
ups and downs three stripe logo Trademark status
Adidas was granted trademark protection in 2014 for its logo, specifically “three diagonal stripes or squares equally spaced and parallel to each other, used on any product.” He has sued apparel manufacturers such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Ralph Lauren Polo, Forever 21 and Marc Jacobs for trademark infringement. Additionally, this isn’t the first time Adidas has failed to protect its trademark. Adidas has previously lost out to Shoe Branding Europe and Fitness World, and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has also revoked his one previous approval of its trademark.
Adidas America Inc. vs. Thom Browne Inc..
The lawsuit started in 2021, but Adidas first claimed logo infringement by Thom Browne in 2007. Thom Browne agreed to stop using the logo and tried to avoid further conflict by adding his fourth stripe to the product’s logo.
However, since then, both manufacturers have grown in their respective fields and broadened the horizons of their product range. To solidify the distinguishing features of such a product line, Thom Browne sought to trademark its Grosgrain RWB signature. This is when the company returned to his Adidas legal radar. This time, some of the products in this line allegedly violated Adidas’ classification of athletic wear products.
Consumer Confusion and Market Competition
Claims by both sides were fairly mundane, such as Adidas claiming consumers were confused by the stripes on its Thom Browne logo. They claimed it looked just like the logo of their product, whether displayed on a shelf, or even in the eyes of a common passer-by.
Defendants argued that the stripes could not be owned by Adidas and consumers would not be confused because the two brands were aimed at different categories of buyers. It offers luxury fashion products that sell for astronomically higher prices than Adidas athletic wear, which is more focused on the general consumer segment that consists of Thom Browne also argued that because Adidas took too long to claim infringement in this case, it was prohibited or estoppel for Adidas to claim infringement, and invoked a defense of inaction. I sent it to He defended the mark’s innovative elements, claiming it was inspired by college varsity sports.
The Blurred Line Between Sport and Fashion – The Floodgate of Possibilities
The Adidas case is a fairly standard IP ruling, but it also highlights the overlap between fashion and sports. From soccer jerseys to basketball shoes, ensuring product utility is not enough. On the contrary, enhancing a product’s aesthetic appeal has become an essential factor in enhancing its marketability. So perhaps previously non-overlapping products have become similar over time.
Collaboration and categories – the new meta for strategic company expansion
Today, brand collaborations are not only a way to form synergistic alliances, but they also push the revenue ceilings of party companies and make way for category expansion. there’s a lot of room. It is clear that more and more companies will cooperate and expand into other categories. Because it allows companies to expand their range of goods and services, which contributes to gaining market share, expanding the company’s sphere of influence commercially, and increasing its influence. business prosperity.
Thom Browne successfully argued in the Adidas lawsuit that both parties were involved in gaining a distinct consumer base, but the overlap and intersection of product offerings from both companies was clear.
Each party to the Adidas suit has previously treaded the other company’s supposed commercial arena. There are also fashionable yet sporty products, which are well above the normal price. Thom Browne has also partnered with football club He Barcelona to produce the club’s regular game jerseys, which are not normally considered fashion or luxury goods.
Therefore, the traditional approach of clearly demarcating sports and fashion products as belonging to two separate customer bases is arguably obsolete today. This phenomenon may ultimately lead to a broader paradigm shift in the realm of fashion-related intellectual property.
Adidas Image Source: Deposit Photos
Image ID: 179086876
Author: Dennismart
Thom Browne Image Sources:
https://www.thombrowne.com/us/shopping/rwb-grosgrain-band-striped-shirt-12372710
