The sportswear company has taken frequent legal action since 2008 to defend exclusive use of its three-stripe logo.
Sportswear maker Adidas has reversed course 48 hours after asking the United States Trademark Office to reject a Black Lives Matter application featuring a three parallel stripes design.
“Adidas will withdraw its opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation trademark application as soon as possible,” the company said in a statement Wednesday.
Adidas overturned its opposition without prejudice, allowing it to continue to challenge the mark on the same grounds.
A source close to the company said the quick about-face was prompted by fears people might misinterpret Adidas’ trademark objection as a criticism of Black Lives Matter’s mission.
Adidas had told the trademark office in a Monday filing that the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s yellow stripe design is so similar to its own famous three-stripe mark that it “is likely to cause confusion.”
It wanted to block the group’s request to use the design on goods that the German sporting goods manufacturer also sells, such as shirts, hats and bags.
Adidas is struggling financially after ending its lucrative Yeezy footwear partnership with Kanye West over anti-Semitic comments he made on social media and in interviews.
According to media reports, the sportswear company has also ended its Ivy Park collaboration with Beyonce. Adidas’ contract with the pop star expires at the end of this year.
“Probably confusing”
Adidas said in the filing that it has used its logo since 1952 and that Black Lives Matter’s design could create confusion by leading shoppers to believe their merchandise is linked or from the same source.
The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is the most prominent organization in the decentralized Black Lives Matter movement, which emerged a decade ago to protest police violence against black people.
The group applied for a federal trademark in November 2020 to use a yellow three-stripe design on a variety of products, including clothing, publications, bags, bracelets and mugs.
Representatives from the Black Lives Matter group did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Adidas has filed more than 90 lawsuits and signed more than 200 settlement agreements related to the three-stripe brand since 2008, according to court documents in a lawsuit the company filed against designer Thom Browne’s fashion house.
A jury in that case ruled in January that Thom Browne’s stripe patterns did not infringe Adidas’ trademark rights.
The US Patent and Trademark Office declined to comment on how quickly the Black Lives Matter trademark could be registered.