Adidas AG (ADSGn.DE) wants the U.S. Trademark Office to reject a Black Lives Matter trademark with three parallel stripes because it might mislead consumers.
Adidas informed the office in a Monday filing that Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc.’s yellow-stripe design would confuse its iconic three-stripe mark. As a result, it opposed the group’s request to put the design on the German sportswear maker’s shirts, caps, and bags.
Adidas declined to comment. Black Lives Matter ignored Tuesday’s request.
Adidas said in the petition that its logo has had “international repute and high public awareness” since 1952.
According to court records from a Thom Browne case, Adidas has filed over 90 lawsuits and obtained over 200 settlement agreements related to the three-stripe trademark since 2008.
In January, a jury found Thom Browne’s stripe designs did not breach Adidas’ trademark.
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation leads the decentralized movement that protested police violence against Black people a decade ago. In November 2020, the organization registered a federal trademark for a yellow three-stripe pattern for apparel, publications, bags, wristbands, and mugs.
Adidas said in its Monday lawsuit that the group’s design resembled its emblem and would confuse buyers.
Comment Template