Adidas Takes Thom Browne Back to Court

German sportswear brand adidas and New York brand Thom Browne are heading to court one more time just before the holidays. Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York has scheduled a hearing for December 21 to hear new arguments surrounding the intent of the disclosure of four additional emails that surfaced after the initial trial conclusion. adidas previously sued Browne for using four stripes, claiming that it sparked confusion with the sports brand. However, the designer claims that he was using stripes for many years to reference the collegiate inspirations. Back in January, an eight-person jury came back with the verdict which found Browne not liable for damages or profits by selling products with four stripes.

The saga does not appear to end here. Adidas America and Adidas Ag had seeked damages of $867,225 USD — reportedly the amount the company agrees that Thom Browne Inc. would have had to pay in licensing fees. They also alleged Thom Browne owed them $7 million USD in profits. New emails surfaced in October when adidas called it out for being “bad faith” from Thom Browne’s employees. The emails saw employees caution the designer about using the stripe because they would potentially create confusion with adidas

Now, adidas is seeking a new trial to call into evidence the new emails. Browne is arguing that the emails were never intentionally concealed. Browne’s attorney have also reiterated that “adidas’ hands are note clean,” claiming tha the sports brand had breached U.K. confidentiality agreement by sharing the emails with the company’s U.S. counsel earlier than it had originally disclosed.