Three stripes is a trademark of Adidas consisting of three parallel lines, which typically feature along the side of Adidas apparel. Adidas was known for this branding early in its history, with its owner, Adolf Dassler, describing it as "The three stripe company". Designs for shoes registered in 1949 incorporated the three stripes along the side. Finnish sports brand Karhu Sports sold the three stripe trademark to Adidas for €1,600 and two bottles of Whiskey.
Branding in sports
In 1998, Adidas sued the National Collegiate Athletic Association over their rules limiting the size and number of commercial logos on team uniforms and apparel. Adidas withdrew the suit, and the two groups established guidelines as to what three-stripe designs would be considered uses of the Adidas trademark. of Canada wearing an Adidas jacket with the modified stripe design at the 2006 Winter Olympics. In late 2004, rival sporting good manufacturers filed a complaint to the International Olympic Committee over Adidas being allowed to exceed the 20 cm2 limit permitted for branding with the three stripes. Adidas argued that the trademark device was a design element rather than a logo and despite being an IOC sponsor, which led to accusations of Adidas receiving preferential treatment, the three stripes were banned by the Olympic movement starting with the 2006 Winter Games. However, Adidas circumvented the ban by using a modified three stripe design, combining them with the number 3, for the 2006 Games. In 2006 Adidas sued All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, other Grand Slam tournaments and the International Tennis Federation over restrictions on manufacturer's identifications placed on player clothing.
In popular culture
The musical artist Lady Sovereign references the Three Stripes trademark in her song "Hoodie" from the albumPublic Warning. The album was released in 2006 and had multiple remixes, again involving references to the Three Stripes trademark. Also the music artist Davay made a short hardbass song named "TRI POLOSKI" in 2016. Since the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Adidas or "the three-striped brand" has been the trademark of the Russian gopniks and therefore being a major subject for hardbass.
Trademark disputes
Adidas has sued or threatened to sue retailers to protect the brand, including the following cases:
2007 : Dutch Supreme Court ruled in the case Adidas/Marca Mode II that the two stripe of Marca et al. did not infringe the three stripe trade mark of Adidas.
2008 : European Court of Justice decided in favour of Adidas, against Marca Mode, C&A, H&M Hennes & Mauritz and Vendex KBB, that two-stripes could infringe on the Adidas three-stripe trademark.
2009: Aldo Group Inc., filed 14 January in federal court in Portland, claiming a breach of out-of-court settlements between the companies in 2004 and 2006. Adidas America Inc. v. Aldo Group Inc., 3:09- cv-00056
2014 Adidas successfully registers the three-stripe design at the European Union level
2016 The EU's Intellectual Property Office annuls the 2014 registration on the grounds that it was not distinctive enough.
2019 EU General Court upholds the 2016 decision of the EUIPO stating that it did not have enough "distinctive character" to qualify for the trademark.
Adidas has also settled with Steven Madden Ltd., Target Corp. and Nordstrom Inc. before going to trial.
