Adidas has failed in an attempt to broaden trademark protection for its three-stripes symbol in the European Union as rivals seek to muscle into the market for striped shoes and clothing.
The company had tried to establish a wider trademark for “three parallel equidistant stripes of equal width applied to the product in whichever direction”.
“The verdict does not affect our ability to use and protect the three stripes,” a spokeswoman said.
The General Court of the European Union said it had upheld a 2016 decision of the European Intellectual Property Office to annul a previous acceptance of the trademark, which Adidas registered in 2014 for clothing, footwear and headgear.
That trademark was challenged by Belgium’s Shoe Branding Europe after a decade-long dispute. The sporting goods industry has seen a rise in trademark and patent disputes.
High-profile cases included Adidas clashing with Skechers USA and Nike taking on Puma.
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