The battle of the stripes continues. Fashion brand Thom Browne wanted to register its three-color stripe as a trademark in the EU, but sportswear brand Adidas wanted to put a stop to it. However, the European Union Intellectual Property Office blocked Adidas’ attempt, allowing Thom Browne to use the stripes, as reported by WWD. Which is great news! It allows for more creativity in the mens fashion industry.
The reasoning behind the decision is the same as in a previous legal case in the United States between the two brands. Since both brands operate in different segments, sports and luxury fashion, the office deems it unlikely that consumers will confuse the two brands because of the stripes.
Adidas strongly and frequently protects the use of three stripes in designs. For instance, there was a case between H&M and Adidas from 1997 to 2021 over the use of stripes in the Work Out collection. The battle lasted for 24 years, and ultimately, H&M won. Adidas also fought battles with other brands like K-Swiss, Fitnessworld, Scapa, and Nike. Additionally, Adidas is not the only one fighting against the use of a specific stripe pattern – Gucci also protects the use of a blue-red-blue stripe pattern and a green-red-green stripe pattern. The fight between creativity and trademarking keeps being a hot topic and both sides have point to take into consideration. In my opinion this needs to be more of a public debate instead of courtroom battles.
Images source: Thom Browne