The two sportswear giants, Nike and Adidas, are waging a legal battle (trademark dispute), that began in 2022, when Adidas lodged a complaint before the Düsseldorf Regional Court, leading to an initial ban on Nike’s use in Germany of the striped motif designs. Namely, the footwear and sportswear company – Nike, has now been given the green light to use the stripes on four of its disputed designs, although a ban for one model remains. Moreover, the decision was partially overturned on appeal, allowing Nike to offer on the market, possess, and advertise four out of the five of the disputed marks.
It is important to emphasize that in this relevant case, the court pointed out that not every stripe pattern placed on the side of sports pants can be automatically associated with Adidas.
In addition, the court decided that Adidas can’t simply prevent competitors from using stripes. It must prove that a risk of confusion exists and that the relevant public will associate the sign at issue with its mark.
Nike has argued that Adidas’ claims on the three-stripe design are overly restrictive. Moreover, the striped pattern has been used by several apparel companies across the sportswear industry, including on the outer seams of track pants.
This ruling is of a great importance, having in mind the fact that it shows that the legal protection that the holders of registered trademarks have should not be interpreted in a way that it will prevent/prohibit the fair competition between market players.