Adidas and Thom Browne fight in UK court over striped trademark | kbnmart

Sportswear giant Adidas and fashion house Thom Browne resumed their legal battle on Wednesday, as London’s High Court heard the latest round of a global dispute centering on their rival striped brands.
New York designer Thom Browne, who regularly uses the four-stripes pattern, filed a lawsuit against Adidas in London in 2021 to cancel several trademarks that feature Adidas’ famous three-stripes pattern.

Thom Browne, who changed the three-stripes pattern in 2007 after Adidas complained, says Adidas is actually trying to create a monopoly on the use of stripes on clothing.

But Adidas has countersued Thom Browne for infringing its trademarks by selling sports and leisure clothing featuring the four stripes, accusing him of exploiting Adidas’ reputation and brand image.

The two companies have faced off in the United States, where a jury dismissed Adidas’ trademark lawsuit last year, a decision that was upheld on appeal in May.

Thom Browne has also filed a separate trademark lawsuit against Adidas in the Netherlands and the European Union Intellectual Property Office.

Thom Browne’s lawyer, Philip Roberts, told the court that Adidas had used some of the trademarks as a “Trojan horse” to prevent the fonts from being used on other companies’ products.

“The expanding monopoly claimed by Adidas threatens the fundamental freedom of fashion designers to design clothing the way they want,” Roberts added in court filings.

But Adidas lawyer Charlotte May said in court filings that Thom Browne’s launch of the sportswear collection in 2020 was a turning point that “strikes at the heart of Adidas’ business.”

She pointed to its collaboration with American basketball star LeBron James, and its partnership with Spanish football team Barcelona, ​​when Adidas-sponsored player Lionel Messi was at the club, as evidence that “Thom Browne intends to continue its assault on sportswear and sports marketing.”

The trial is expected to end next week.