25 Feb Adidas Wins Legal Battle Over Three-Stripe Design
The European Union‘s top court upheld an appeal by Adidas after a rival company tried to trademark a shoe logo similar to Adidas‘ triple stripes.
The court found that Adidas can trademark registration of parallel stripes on the side of sports shoes produced by other brands.
In 2009, Shoe Branding Europe, a Belgian company, filed an application to register as a trademark the two forward slashes on the side of its shoes. The European Court of Justice ruled that although only two stripes, Shoe Branding Europe‘s design was too similar to the Adidas stripes, in a decision published Wednesday.
The court found that the “differences between two and three stripes and the length of the stripes” was only “minor,” and “would not influence the overall impression” produced on the side of the shoe, according to a statement.