German sports attire company Adidas filed and then swiftly dropped a copyright challenge against the Black Lives Matter movement, claiming their logos were “confusingly similar.”
In a letter to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Adidas claimed that the three lines at the bottom of the BLM logo were much too similar to those featured on their own graphic. While the company is usually incredibly careful of its branding, sources allegedly told Reuters they chose to drop the challenge due to the optics. They simply didn’t want to appear as though they were in opposition to BLM values, especially after making a massive $20 million donation to the organization in 2020.
“Adidas will withdraw its opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s trademark application as soon as possible,” read a statement from the company.
Since 2008, the company has reportedly filed over 90 lawsuits in regard to its trademark, which has featured the three stripes since 1958.
Adidas has taken court action to block a trademark filed by Black Lives Matter for its “Three-Stripe” logo.
Per the court filings made on March 27th, Adidas claims the Black Lives Matter stripes are too similar to its own.
A thread #adidas #BlackLivesMatter #BLM pic.twitter.com/S4b5YFXRdh
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) March 28, 2023
The court filing goes on to state that:
1️⃣ Adidas has priority in the “Three-Stripe” trademark.
2️⃣ Consumers will believe that the goods and services offered under BLM’s trademark are associated with or sponsored by Adidas.
[3/8] pic.twitter.com/ypoP8g0VrM
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) March 28, 2023
Adidas claims that because consumers are likely to believe that it is affiliated with BLM, “any defect, objection, or fault found with the goods and services” offered under BLM’s trademark “would reflect on and seriously injure Adidas’s reputation.”
[5/8] pic.twitter.com/HpToUeFvLZ
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) March 28, 2023
UPDATE: On March 29th, Adidas filed a motion to withdrawal the court action.
Here is a link to the filing:https://t.co/e9SXu3IVQt
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) March 29, 2023
Social media reacted to the filing and swift withdrawal:
This would be like France suing The Netherlands for a similar trademark infringement.
— Chris Conaton (@Tons_a_Con) March 28, 2023
Black lines matter.
— Eric Arthur (@EricArt03124101) March 28, 2023
I had a pair of Adidas in high school (mid 1970s).
At no time then or at any point since have I ever confused or been confused by another configuration of “three stripes” on… anything.
The only thing I *do* know is that I’ll never now buy another Adidas product.
— Rudely Van Gelder (@here4tehbeer) March 29, 2023
Has Adidas seen the Atari logo? Also 3 stripes.
— Q.H. Stone (@GwjQhs) March 29, 2023
The planet, and particularly the United States, could do without hyperactive and obsessive intellectual property attorneys. Another in a long string of examples.
— Mike Doughney @[email protected] (@MikeDoughney) March 28, 2023
I’m over 40 and just noticed Adidas’ “logo” today. I honestly thought it was just a word mark and it never occurred to me that track suits with three stripes meant anything aside from the fact that they had three stripes.
— Patrick Gerard (@PatrickGerard01) March 29, 2023
Wait… what? How? They look nothing alike!
— Salad Shooter (@thesaladshooter) March 29, 2023
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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