Adidas retracted its opposition to Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s three-stripe design on clothing and other product lines. Credit: Camilla Carvalho on Unsplash.

International sportswear brand Adidas has withdrawn its opposition to a trademark application filed by the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLM), Reuters reported.

adidas had argued that the BLM three-yellow-stripe design, for which the latter filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in November 2020, was confusingly similar to its own three-stripe mark.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

The company retracted its opposition to the trademark application without prejudice within 48 hours. It did not provide reasons for its withdrawal.

BLM will use the design on products such as clothing, bags, accessories, and online websites.

In its application, Adidas claimed that it began using the three-stripe mark on its footwear collection as early as 1952 and on its apparel in the US and worldwide as early as 1967. It contended that the mark is a unique identity of the brand.

See Also:

Reuters reported that since 2008, the sports brand has filed more than 90 lawsuits and signed more than 200 settlement agreements in connection with the three-stripe trademark.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

In January this year, Adidas lost a court case against fashion designer Thom Browne over a trademark issue, The Guardian reported.

The brand claimed that Thom Browne’s design, which features four horizontal, parallel stripes, was too close to its three-stripe logo.

In June 2019, the General Court of the EU declared that Adidas’ EU trademark of “three parallel equidistant stripes of identical width, applied on the product in any direction” was invalid.