The jury on Thursday found no trademark infringement or dilution. Adidas had sought $7.8 million in total.
Adidas “does not own stripes,” Thom Browne attorney Robert Maldonado of Wolf Greenfield & Sacks PC told jurors during closing arguments. Thom Browne’s namesake, who was in the courtroom, is offended by the notion that his company wanted to trade on Adidas’ brand, Maldonado said.
“This whole idea that Thom Browne wants to be a sportswear athletic company is just not true,” Maldonado said. Following the verdict, the attorney said the case was an important victory for fashion designers.
Adidas said in a statement it was disappointed with the verdict and “will continue to vigilantly enforce our intellectual property, including filing any appropriate appeals.”
Adidas sued Thom Browne in 2021 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that the luxury brand infringed its trademarks by expanding into the sportswear market with shoes, shirts, and pants bearing two, three, and four parallel stripes. Thom Browne entered into a partnership with the European soccer club F.C. Barcelona beginning in the 2018 season.
Adidas attorney Charlie Henn of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP said Thom Browne had pushed “right into Adidas’ court.” Adidas had evidence showing almost 30% of people surveyed believed that disputed Thom Browne products were associated with Adidas.
“There was empirical data from the survey, to which there was no rebuttal, that proves people thought it was Adidas,” Henn said.
Vigorous Enforcement
Adidas has vigorously enforced its trademark rights to its “three-quadrilaterals” logo, which it first began using on footwear in 1952. The company owns 24 federal trademark registrations for different variations of the stripes, covering all kinds of apparel.
Adidas argued Thom Browne sold activewear that was “basically the same” and was likely to confuse people who saw the products on social media, on store racks, or while being worn by others.
But Thom Browne, which sells sweatpants and compression shirts for $650 or more, doesn’t compete with Adidas, Maldonado told jurors, arguing the two brands are in “different worlds.”
“This case isn’t about confusion,” Maldonado said. “It isn’t about competition. It’s about whether Adidas can own all stripes.”
US District Judge Jed S. Rakoff dismissed Thom Browne’s counterclaims—which argued that Adidas’ mark should be canceled because it is “aesthetically functional” and “undermines” the ability of its competitors to enter new markets—in October, and denied both parties’ bids for pretrial wins in December.
Thom Browne, founded in 2001, argued in earlier stages of the case that Adidas took an inexcusably long time to bring the lawsuit—a legal defense known as laches. Rakoff won’t have to decide the issue after Thom Browne’s trial win.
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP represents Adidas. Wolf Greenfield & Sacks PC and Lewinconsult LLC represent Thom Browne.
The case is adidas America Inc. v. Thom Browne Inc., S.D.N.Y., No. 1:21-cv-05615, verdict 1/12/23.
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