Barbados Times

Barbados, Caribbean & World News
Friday, Nov 08, 2024

Adidas withdraws opposition to Black Lives Matter three stripe design

Adidas withdraws opposition to Black Lives Matter three stripe design

The sports clothing company had tried to stop the prominent BLM group from registering a three-stripe trademark used on items it also sells, such as bags and clothes, for fear it could likely "cause confusion" among consumers.

Adidas has withdrawn its opposition to a three-line Black Lives Matter (BLM) trademark.

The German sports design giant had asked the US Trademark Office to reject a trademark application by Black Lives Matter, which featured three parallel lines, just two days before the U-turn.

"Adidas will withdraw its opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation's trademark application as soon as possible," a company statement said.

Adidas had told the US Trademark Office that Black Lives Matter's design so closely resembled its iconic three-stripe trademark that it was likely to cause confusion and consumers may believe the Black Lives Matter items may be made or connected to Adidas.

Adidas has previously sued Thom Browne over its stripe design but were unsuccessful in the court case


It sought to prevent the design being registered as a trademark and used on items that Adidas sells such as T-shirts and bags.

The group seeking the trademark, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, is the most prominent entity in the Black Lives Matter movement, which comprises groups across the world with no central, governing body.

The organisation had applied for a federal trademark in November 2020 for a yellow three-stripe design to use on products including clothes, publications, bags, bracelets and mugs.

The Black Lives Matter movement was launched 10 years ago in protest to police violence against black people.

The three-line design has been used by Adidas since 1952 and has been defended in court multiple times since then. More than 90 lawsuits have been brought and more than 200 settlements have been agreed since 2008, according to court documents from a lawsuit brought against designer Thom Browne and his design brand.

That case was successfully defended in January when a jury found in favour of Thom Browne.

Last month Adidas revealed plans for a huge cut to its shareholder payments as it dealt with the expensive fallout from its failed partnership with rapper and designer Kanye West.

The company admitted it was still yet to decide what to do with a mountain of unsold Yeezy runners, the legacy of its split from West, following antisemitic, and other offensive remarks, he made in October.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Barbados Times
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×