Adidas received good news last week in its ongoing fight to establish its three stripes mark as an actual trademark. European Union's highest court ruled Thursday that it is up to national authorities to determine whether clothing with designs similar to adidas' three stripes infringes on its trademark.
Adidas had sued several companies in the Netherlands to try to stop them from using decorative designs resembling the three-stripe motif, such as the use of two stripes. A Dutch court asked the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice for advice, and on Thursday it said “the national court must determine whether the average consumer” would link the two.
