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Adidas reversed an attempt to block a Black Lives Matter logo from being trademarked, just two days after US authorities were asked to reject the design.
“Adidas will withdraw its opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation trademark application as soon as possible,” the German company said in an emailed statement on Wednesday, although the sports giant gave no reasons for its decision.
In 2020, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, which has self-described as the Black Lives Matter movement’s fundraising and support organization, Applied to protect two designs for campaign and fundraising purposes. One application was for a design the group has used as a logo on its website, with the words “Black Lives Matter” across three yellow stripes. The second use was to brand the three yellow stripes design so it could be used for fundraising on merchandise such as mugs, clothing and bags.
Adidas filed an objection to the second application on Monday, thereby establishing the foundation The three-stripe design is “confusingly similar” to Adidas’ “three-stripe mark” and is likely to cause “confusion, deception or error as to the organization’s affiliation with Adidas.” Then on Wednesday she rowed back.
It’s quite unusual for a trademark case to be withdrawn so quickly, Phillip Johnson, a professor of commercial law at Cardiff University, said in an interview. “Most likely, the decision to withdraw the case was more for reputation management reasons than for the sake of the cause.”
The company’s attempt to block the Black Lives Matter foundation from trademarking its logo had generated confusion and criticism on social media – how some defendants The company believed it had “the eternal right to straight lines” with it another joked: “Three stripes and you’re out, according to Adidas.”
Brand experts were divided on the strengths of Adidas’ original case. “Looking at the difference in color and shape of the stripes, I think Adidas probably won’t win this case if it goes to court,” trademark attorney Josh Gerben wrote on Twitter.
However, Johnson noted that the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s design with three parallel lines “could be considered very similar to Adidas’ registered trademark.” “Since most of the use of Adidas was contextual [to] Clothing would be much more difficult for BLM the brand for clothing than it would be for, say, charity fundraisers or public awareness campaigns,” he added.
Adidas has been involved in several trademark disputes over the years over its three-stripe design, registered by founder Adi Dassler in 1949.
For over a decade, Adidas tried to stop fashion designer Thom Browne from using stripes in his luxury designs, arguing that his striped designs were too similar to his own – even though his designs used a different number of stripes. During a January New York lawsuit that Adidas lost, Browne’s attorneys argued that stripes were a common design.
Adidas has also lost trademark disputes in European courts over its three-stripe design, with Belgian company Shoe Branding Europe in 2019 and Dutch company Fitnessworld in 2003.
Adidas has filed over 90 lawsuits and signed more than 200 settlement agreements related to the three stripes brand since 2008, Portal reported on Wednesday, citing court documents.
The Black Lives Matter movement has spanned the globe since its inception in 2013, with people around the world taking to the streets to show solidarity with Black Americans in the face of police brutality and gun violence – but also to speak out against racial injustice across Europe and in other countries.
How the Black Lives Matter movement is sweeping the globe
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Wednesday.
Adidas has had a turbulent couple of months. In October, the company was forced to sever ties with rapper and fashion designer Kanye West over his anti-Semitic comments. Many criticized Adidas for being slower than other companies to sever its relationship with West, now called Ye.
Earlier this month, Adidas warned it could suffer its first full-year loss in decades amid the fallout from its now-defunct collaboration with the disgraced musician, a breakup that largely caused the $763 million loss in the fourth quarter, it reported the Washington Post.