Introduction of Companies involved in the dispute
Shoe Branding Europe BVBA is a Belgian footwear company and wants to register it's 2 stripe logo as a trademark. Adidas has its roots in Germany but now it's a global company dealing in Sportswear. Adidas has a 3 stripes logo to differentiate its product from other products in the market.
The three-stripe logo was first registered by Adidas's founder, Adi Dassler, on a football boot on 18 August 1949, but the court said it was not sufficient to identify the products as originating from the brand.
Below there is a picture of Adidas logo and the parallel stripes logo of Shoe Branding Europe.
The Dispute
Adidas initiated trademark opposition proceedings against Belgian footwear company Shoe Branding Europe BVBA ("Shoe Branding") alleging that two of Shoe Branding's pending European Union trademark applications – both of which consisted of a 2-stripe design – are "confusingly similar" to its well-known 3-stripe trademark. As a result of such similarity, adidas demanded that the trademarks not be granted registration status in the EU.
Download >> Shoe Branding Europe v. Adidas: Case History
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