A Manhattan jury stated Thursday that Adidas AG failed to indicate that luxurious model Thom Browne Inc’s use of stripes on clothes infringed on the sportswear big’s three-stripe trademark.
An Adidas spokesman stated in an electronic mail that the corporate was disenchanted by the decision however would “proceed to vigorously implement our mental property, together with by submitting any applicable appeals.”
A spokesman for Thom Browne Inc stated the corporate was happy with the decision.
Adidas sued New York designer Thom Browne’s model in 2021, claiming that Thom Browne’s four-bar stripe and “Grosgrain” designs on footwear and high-end sportswear infringed on its trademark rights on three strips.
Clothier Thom Browne walks the runway at Paris Trend Week in October 2022. Credit score: SAVIKO/Gamma-Rapho/Getty
Adidas has filed greater than 90 lawsuits and signed greater than 200 settlement agreements since 2008 associated to the model, in line with courtroom paperwork on file. Thom Browne beforehand used a three-stripe design on clothes, altering it to the four-stripe design after Adidas objected in 2007.
Thom Browne stated confusion between the businesses’ fashions was unlikely as a result of they “function in numerous markets, serve totally different clients and provide their merchandise at strikingly totally different costs.” He additionally stated that stripes are a typical design ingredient for clothes.
Adidas had deliberate to ask the jury for greater than $7.8 million in damages, plus further punitive damages and a lower of Thom Browne’s ineligible gross sales, in line with a courtroom submitting. He additionally sought an injunction to cease Thom Browne from utilizing the designs.
Pictured above: Thom Browne arrives at Manhattan Federal Court docket in New York final week.
