Adidas retracts opposition to Black Lives Matter's three stripe trademark

Following its original claims that the design was "misleading", sportswear giant Adidas has withdrawn its court filings to block the application for a Black Lives Matter trademark featuring three parallel stripes.

The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation applied for a US federal trademark in November 2020, which features a yellow three-stripe design. The foundation intends to use the stripes on a range of products including clothing, publications, bags, bracelets and mugs.

Adidas told the US trademark office that the political group’s logo would create confusion with its own three-stripe mark. According to the documents filed earlier this week (27 March), Adidas claimed that customers may think products featuring the Black Lives Matter design were connected to the brand.

However, Adidas today reversed course after previously asking the US Trademark Office to reject the application. The company said in a statement: "Adidas will withdraw its opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s trademark application as soon as possible."

The company did not provide a reason for the withdrawal of its opposition.

Prior to retracting its opposition, the sportswear brand argued that consumers are likely to believe that it is affiliated with BLM and the trademark "would reflect on and seriously injure Adidas's reputation."

The German manufacturer said it has used its three stripe logo from as early as 1952, and that the design has since gained "international fame and tremendous public recognition".

Josh Gerben, Trademark Attorney, took to Twitter to explain the court proceedings, writing: "Adidas spends a considerable amount of time talking about how famous its "Three-Stripe Mark" is and how the company has frequently used the mark to sponsor and collaborate with many professional athletes and artists."

This is only one example of Adidas' trademark battles. The company has filed over 90 lawsuits and signed more than 200 settlement agreements since 2008 in relation to the trademark.

In January this year, Thom Browne won a similar case against Adidas. A Manhattan jury said that Adidas failed to show how luxury brand Thom Browne Inc's use of stripes on its clothing infringed its signature three-stripe trademark.