Business · Companies · 1 hr ago
Adidas sues White Fox over four-stripe clothing designs
Adidas has sued Sydney-based online retailer White Fox Boutique in the Federal Court of Australia over clothing and advertising featuring four parallel stripes.
Adidas says the designs are deceptively similar to its three-stripe trademark, which it has used in Australia for more than 65 years.
The company says White Fox has sold and promoted the items since March and declined a request to remove them.
White Fox argues the stripes are decorative, not a trademark.
The case will turn on how consumers might view the designs, not just on counting the stripes.
Adidas has previously won a similar Australian case over some four-stripe shoe designs, but has lost trademark challenges in other countries.
The dispute is set to be heard in court next year.
Adidas has sued Australian online fashion retailer White Fox Boutique, alleging its clothing designs with four parallel stripes are deceptively similar to Adidas’s three-stripe trademark.
White Fox is defending the case and says the stripes on its clothing are decorative rather than a trademark.
Adidas says White Fox has sold and promoted the garments since March and declined a request to remove them from sale.
The case is expected to proceed to court hearings next year.
An intellectual property expert said the dispute will turn on more than simply counting the stripes.
- Who
- Adidas is suing White Fox Boutique, which is defending the case.
- What
- Adidas alleges that White Fox’s four-stripe clothing designs infringe its three-stripe trademark.
- When
- White Fox has promoted and supplied the clothing since March this year. Hearings are expected next year.
- Where
- The case is in the Federal Court of Australia; White Fox is based in Sydney.
- Why
- Adidas says the designs are deceptively similar to its trademark and could damage its reputation. White Fox says the stripes are decorative.
Adidas
White Fox Boutique
Design
Adidas
Adidas says White Fox’s four parallel stripes are deceptively similar to its three-stripe trademark.
White Fox Boutique
White Fox says the four stripes on its clothing are decorative rather than a trademark.
Use of Adidas products
Adidas
Adidas alleges White Fox used genuine Adidas shoes in promotional material in a way that took advantage of its reputation and could suggest an association between the companies.
White Fox Boutique
White Fox’s response to this allegation is not stated.
Adding a stripe is neither a complete answer to a trademark claim nor automatically an infringement
Counting stripes is only the start
Adidas says it asked White Fox to remove the garments from sale and stop using the four-stripe design, but White Fox declined.
White Fox has promoted and supplied clothing with four parallel stripes, including through bus, bus-stop and social media advertising.
Court hearings in the case are expected to take place.
- Plaintiff
- Adidas
- Defendant
- White Fox Boutique, a Sydney-based online fashion retailer
- Design at issue
- Four parallel stripes of equal width, in a colour contrasting with the clothing
- Adidas trademark history
- Used in Australia for more than 65 years and globally for more than 75 years
- Court
- Federal Court of Australia
Sources
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