Adidas Makes Decision On Its Trademark Opposition Against Black Lives Matter.
Germany-based athletic gear company Adidas has dropped a partial objection against a trademark application from the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. The company claimed a Black Lives Matter logo was too similar to their iconic logo, which has been in use since 1952.
According to The New York Times, Adidas has not released a statement as to why they dropped the suit after two days. However, their original March 27 filing opposed the Black Lives Matter application due to a trademark that “incorporates three stripes in a manner that is confusingly similar” to the company’s three-stripe logo “in appearance and overall commercial impression.” Their opposition also stated “any defect, objection, or fault found with the goods and services” offered under Black Lives Matter’s trademark “would reflect on and seriously injure Adidas’s reputation.”
In November 2020, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation filed an application for the trademark, which was intended to cover publication, bracelets, bags and other merchandise. Adidas, however, has been filing lawsuits and entering settlement agreements over the design for years, 90 since 2008, according to Reuters.
This isn’t the first time Adidas has filed a trademark opposition. In 2021, Adidas accused fashion designer Thom Browne of using similar stripes. At a January 2023 trial, Browne’s attorney said, “Adidas does not own stripes.” A Manhattan federal jury ruled against Adidas. After the ruling, Browne told NPR, “It was so clear to me to fight for myself, but also to fight for other independent designers and younger designers when they create something unique — that they have the protection of knowing that there won’t be some big company that will come and try to take it away from them.”
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation has not released a statement on Adidas dropping its opposition.
