Adidas has filed a trademark infringement claim over its three-stripe trademarks against FC Barcelona, the Spanish soccer team that recently inked a 10-year extension come 2018 with kit sponsor Nike.
According to The Fashion Law, the opposition document was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
FC Barcelona filed its own seven-stripe trademark for paper goods, clothing, footwear and headwear, various types of sports equipment and other goods. According to Adidas, the FC Barcelona seven-stripe trademark “incorporates parallel stripes in a manner confusingly similar to the Three-Stripe Mark in appearance and overall commercial impression.”
Adidas is asking the USPTO to refrain from awarding FC Barcelona federal registration for its seven-stripe trademark.
The opposition came a day after the record setting FC Barcelona/Nike deal, which, according to Carca VP Manuel Arroyo, “is a figure which puts us No. 1 in the world for sponsorship in the sports industry.”
Photo courtesy Nike
