ZEENAT MOORAD: Adidas: Behind one of the world's greatest sibling rivalries
The origins of adidas and how it earned its stripes
Let’s start by acknowledging that the logo of German sportswear group adidas is one of the most effective and distinctive insignias in the world. To protect its three stripes, the company has picked fights with nearly everyone: Tesla, Nike, Marc Jacobs, soccer club FC Barcelona ... the list is almost unending. Over the past five years alone the group has filed close to 50 trademark infringement lawsuits. Even Pepkor (!) was sued by it. Adidas discovered that Pep Stores and Ackermans had been selling sneakers and soccer boots displaying two and four parallel stripes. Pepkor’s argument was that the stripes were not used as trademarks but as embellishments for decorative purposes, and that protection afforded to adidas was limited to just three parallel stripes. In his supreme court of appeal judgment, then acting judge Brian Southwood had this to say: "The more distinctive the trademark is, or the greater its reputation, the greater the likelihood that there will be deception or confu...
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