Adidas takes Australian brand to court over stripes
German sportswear manufacturer adidas has taken an Australian footwear brand to court over trainers it alleges infringe the famous three-stripes trademark.
Adidas is claiming Pacific Brands Footwear added a fourth stripe to trainers it sold in Australia, making them “deceptively similar” to adidas goods.
The Sunday Telegraph has reported that adidas is seeking compensation to discourage others from infringing on its trademark. It claims the four parallel stripes on the Pacific Brands shoe are of equal width and at the same angle as in the equivalent adidas offering.
Pacific Brands, a listed company that manufactures Bonds clothing and Dunlop Volley tennis shoes in Australia, said it stopped distributing the shoes after receiving legal letters from the German company.
