Thom Browne Wins Stripes Trademark Infringement Case Against adidas
The verdict found that the American luxury designer was not liable for damages from selling products with four stripes.
Thom Browne on Thursday won the three-stripes trademark infringement case against adidas.
Under three hours after both parties had delivered their closing remarks on Thursday afternoon, the eight-person jury returned with a verdict that found the American luxury designer did not infringe on adidas’ trademark and therefore was not liable for damages or profits from selling products with four stripes or its trademark grosgrain ribbon.
“We are pleased that the jury found that at no time did Thom Browne Inc. infringe on any of Adidas’ trademarks. For over 20 years now, Thom Browne has been a pioneering force in luxury fashion, bringing a wholly unique and distinctive design aesthetic that combines classic tailoring with American sportswear sensibilities. We look forward to continuing to design and provide the creative products that have become the hallmark of the Thom Browne label,” a Thom Browne spokesperson said in a statement via WWD.
The trial, which kicked off last week in Manhattan’s Southern District Court, dates back to June 2021, when adidas filed a trademark infringement and dilution complaint against Thom Browne, arguing that “despite Thom Browne’s knowledge of [its] rights in the famous three-stripe mark,” the New York design house “has expanded its product offerings far beyond [its] formal wear and business attire specialty.” The filing claimed that Browne is now “selling athletic-style apparel and footwear featuring two, three or four parallel stripes in a manner that is confusingly similar to adidas’ three-stripe mark.”
adidas was seeking $867,225 USD in damages for would-be licensing fees and an additional $7 million USD in profits that it alleges the New York brand made from products with stripes, according to adidas’ attorney R. Charles Henn Jr. of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.
Browne initially used three stripes on varsity-inspired clothing items, and Henn stated that when adidas noticed its usage in 2007, the brand approached Browne’s then-CEO to change the logo to four stripes. The verdict proved that Thom Browne has not impacted adidas’ business for more than a decade, since the luxury label began using four stripes on its designs. Revisit the brands’ opening remarks, here.
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