Adidas have failed to convince the jury during court proceedings that Thom Browne used the Adidas ‘three stripes’ logo without authorisation.
Adidas were seeking nearly $8 million in damages due to Thom Browne’s ‘four-stripe’ logo infringing and diluting Adidas’s ‘three stripe’ mark. Adidas has been using the ‘three-stripe’ mark since 1950 and have previously won disputes regarding the mark against brands like Sketchers, Juicy Couture and Marc Jacobs. Adidas first raised issues with Thom Browne’s use of a stripe design in 2007 when a near identical ‘three-stripe’ logo design was being disputed.
Adidas have claimed that the average consumer will likely be confused when they see Thom Browne’s ‘four-stripe’ design on clothing and footwear as they would make the assumption that the clothing and footwear are associated with the Adidas branding. Adidas see Thom Browne as a direct competitor as the latter began to push more into athletic clothing. Furthermore, Thom Browne had at the time of dispute partnered with Barcelona which had Adidas collaborator Lionel Messi on the team. Therefore, Adidas contended that the ‘four stripe’ design on sportswear and footwear will cause initial interest confusion and post purchase confusion.
Thom Browne argued that it is not possible that consumers will get confused between the ‘four-stripe’ design and the Adidas mark as Thom Browne is a luxury brand and Adidas is a sportswear brand. Moreover, the price difference in products would reiterate that there is a clear difference in the goods that will not cause confusion. Thom Browne further argues that relevant consumers to Thom Browne and the luxury fashion industry that see the ‘four or five stripe’ design and will link it to Thom Browne rather than the Adidas ‘three-stripes’ mark.
As Adidas lost the dispute, Thom Browne are not required to pay the $8 million in damages as there has been no infringement or dilution. Adidas said in a statement that they are disappointed with the verdict but may look to enforce any appropriate appeal.
By Abhiraj Aujla, an LLM student from Solent University
