The European Court of Justice ruled that a two-stripe design, common on sporting goods throughout the EU, does not constitute trademark infringement. The case was brought by adidas against Fitnessworld Trading in Dutch courts five years ago, and has just recently been resolved.
In the final ruling the ECJ judges stated, “The proprietor of a trademark with a reputation cannot prevent the use of a similar sign viewed purely as a decorative motif.”
This ruling was not a total surprise to adidas, since the Advocate General Francis Jacobs said that the two-stripe design was a “simple decorative embellishment” for the Dutch public and could not be considered a trademark. This non-binding opinion supposedly did not carry any weight in the case, but it did give adidas an idea of the direction the decision was headed.
The court said that Fitnessworld could use the two stripes as decoration, but left it up to Dutch courts to decide the fate of a two-stripe logo.
