Adidas Says Black Lives Matter Design Violates Three-Stripe Trademark

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Adidas said in its Monday filing that the Black Lives Matter group’s design was confusingly similar to its logo, and that consumers would likely think their goods were connected or came from the same source.

Sportswear giant Adidas AG has asked the United States Trademark Office to reject an application for a Black Lives Matter (BLM) trademark featuring three parallel stripes, arguing it could mislead the public.

Adidas told the office in a Monday filing that Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc.’s yellow-stripe design would create confusion with its own famous three-stripe mark. It sought to block the group’s application to use the design on goods that the sneaker giant also sells, such as shirts, hats, and bags.

Adidas said in the filing it has been using its logo for more than 70 years, and that it has acquired “international fame and tremendous public recognition”.

Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is the most prominent entity in the decentralised BLM movement, which arose a decade ago to protest police violence against Black people.

The group applied for a US trademark in November 2020 for a yellow three-stripe design to use on a variety of merchandise including clothing, publications, bags, bracelets, and mugs.

In a notice of opposition submitted to the trademark office, Adidas said the proposed design “incorporates three stripes in a manner that is confusingly similar to the Three-Stripe Mark in appearance and overall commercial impression”.

The company added that consumers who are familiar with its goods and services “are likely to assume” that those offered under the applicant’s mark “originate from the same source, or that they are affiliated, connected, or associated with or sponsored by Adidas”.

The US Trademark Office gave the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation until May 6 to respond to the challenge.

Adidas has filed over 90 lawsuits and signed more than 200 settlement agreements related to the three-stripe trademark since 2008, according to court documents from a lawsuit the company brought against the luxury brand Thom Browne’s fashion house.

A jury in that case decided in January this year that Thom Browne’s stripe patterns did not violate Adidas’ trademark rights after the German sportswear company argued that Browne’s four stripes were too similar to its three stripes.