Three stripes
Encyclopedia
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
of Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
since 1949.
Karhu Sports
Karhu Sports
Karhu is a Finnish sports brand. Karhu, meaning bear in Finnish, was first using as a sporting goods brand in 1916 by the Finnish company Ab Sport Artiklar...
sold the three stripe trademark to Adidas for (the equivalent of) €1,600 euros and two bottles of Whiskey.
Branding in sports
In 1998, Adidas sued the National Collegiate Athletic AssociationNational Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
over their rules limiting the size and number of commercial logos on team uniforms and apparel. Adidas withdrew the suit, and the two groups established guidelines as to what three-stripe designs would be considered uses of the Adidas trademark.
In 2006 Adidas sued All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club , also known as the All-England Club, based at Aorangi Park, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam tennis event still held on grass...
(Wimbledon), other Grand Slam tournaments and the International Tennis Federation
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
over restrictions on manufacturer's identifications placed on player clothing.
In popular culture
The musical artist Lady SovereignLady Sovereign
Louise Amanda Harman , better known by the stage name Lady Sovereign, is an English rapper & grime artist. She is noted for her professional success in performing styles of music generally dominated by males...
references the Three Stripes trademark in her song "Hoodie" from the album Public Warning
Public Warning
Public Warning is the title of the debut album from UK hip hop artist Lady Sovereign released on 31 October 2006. The album, a mix of grime and hip hop, was originally due for release in November 2005 but was pushed back after Lady Sovereign was signed by Island Def Jam.In a press release, released...
. The album was released in 2006 and had multiple remixes, again involving references to the Three Stripes trademark.
Trademark disputes
In the decade between 1999 and 2009, Adidas has sued about three dozen retailers in the U.S. and Europe to protect the brand.- Adidas v Charles O'Neill and CoO'NeillsO'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd. was established in 1918. It is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland and has manufacturing plants in Dublin and Strabane....
Ltd 1983 ILRM 112. - 1995: settled with Walmart
- 2000: Marca Mode v Adidas decided at the European Court of JusticeEuropean Court of JusticeThe Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
(Case C-425/98) - 2002: settled with Walmart
- 2003: filed a lawsuit in a BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
court challenging Fitness World Trading's use of a two-stripe motif similar to Adidas's three stripes. - 2004 (August): Polo Ralph LaurenPolo Ralph LaurenRalph Lauren Corporation is a luxury clothing and goods company of the American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren specializes in high-end casual/semi-formal wear for men and women, as well as accessories, fragrances, home and housewares...
- 2005: Abercrombie & FitchAbercrombie & FitchAbercrombie & Fitch is an American retailer that focuses on casual wear for consumers aged 18 to 22. It has over 300 locations in the United States, and is expanding internationally....
, in Portland - 2005 (March): Dutch Court of Appeal decided that Adidas had not sufficiently demonstrated that the MarcaMarcaMarca may refer to:Places:* Marca, Sălaj, a commune in Sălaj County, Romania* an alternative name for Merca, Somalia* Marca District, in the province Recuay, PeruMarches:* Marca is the Latin term for border regions known as a Marks or Marches...
two-stripe design did not infringe, based on the Benelux Trademarks Act. (see Benelux Office for Intellectual PropertyBenelux Office for Intellectual PropertyThe Benelux Office for Intellectual Property is the registration office for trademarks and designs in the Benelux. The BOIP was previously known as the Benelux Trademarks Office and the Benelux Designs Office The Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) is the registration office for...
) - 2007 (February): Dutch Supreme Court ruled in the case Adidas/Marca Mode II that the two stripe of Marca et al. did not infringe the three stripe trade mark of Adidas.
- 2008 (April): European Court of JusticeEuropean Court of JusticeThe Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
decided in favour of Adidas, against Marca Mode, C&AC&AC&A is an international chain of fashion retail clothing stores, with its European head offices in Vilvoorde , Belgium and Düsseldorf, Germany...
, H&M Hennes & Mauritz and Vendex KBB, that two-stripes could infringe on the Adidas three-stripe trademark. - 2008 (May): KmartKmartKmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
- 2008: Payless ShoeSourcePayless ShoeSourcePayless ShoeSource is a discount footwear retailer founded in Topeka, Kansas in 1956 that is owned by Collective Brands, Inc. In 1961, it became a public company as the Volume Shoe Corporation which merged with the May Department Stores Company in 1979. In the 1980s, Payless was widely known in the...
, ordered to pay $304.6 million; later reduced to $64.4 million. No. 01-CV-01655-RE - 2008 (October): Wal-Mart Stores Inc., third confidential settlement.
- 2009: Aldo Group Inc., filed January 14 in federal court in Portland, claiming a breach of out-of-court settlements between the companies in 2004 and 2006. Adidas America Inc. v. Aldo Group Inc., 3:09- cv-00056
Adidas has also settled with Steven Madden Ltd., Target Corp. and Nordstrom Inc. before going to trial.
External links
- A tale of three stripes and family strife
- The Adidas Three-Stripes Saga Continues
- Adidas under the microscope (Ip Conference London September 23, 2008)
- Three stripes? Think twice, Newsletter - Spring 2009, TLT LLPTLT LLPTLT LLP is a UK law firm with offices in Bristol, London and Piraeus. According to The Lawyer, TLT is the 65th largest law firm in the UK with revenue of £41 million in 2009/10. The firm employs approximately 650 staff.-History:...
- Bird & Bird Adidas’ three stripes trade mark: Should Freihaltebedürfnis (public interest) be considered in the infringement assessment?
- Three Stripes and Your (Name is) Out , RGC Jenkins & Co.
- Adidas defeated in ‘three-stripes’ trademark ruling