Adidas v. Thom Browne

Fashion

Aug 2

Written By Damian Nicholas

New York City-based designer Thom Browne wins trademark lawsuit against Adidas.

Fashion | Thom Browne

Words By Foli Creppy

MARCO PEDDE / CFDA

On Thursday, January 12th, 2023, a jury has decided that New York City-based designer Thom Browne was not guilty of trademark infringement; a suit which was filed against the brand by global sportswear mega brand Adidas. Reportedly, Thom Browne has taken the decision in stride and states that he is “back to business,” according to his latest Instagram post’s caption - the photo, a close-up of the designer walking down the runway of his S/S 2022 fashion show with a slew of models trailing close behind him.

In the suit, Adidas claims that Thom Browne’s parallel stripes motif and Adidas’s three-stripe trademark are quite similar to one another and will cause confusion which will mislead customers into thinking Thom Browne is connected to the Adidas brand. The verdict comes after a nine-day trial where Adidas sought about $8 million in damages and losses; as per WWD. The suit also notes a licensing fee of $867,225 which Adidas stated Thom Browne would owe their brand had the two worked together (this also includes $7,011,961 in profits Thom Browne owes Adidas for selling striped apparel and footwear).

“Adidas does not own the stripes pattern”

According to WWD, Thom Browne’s attorney, Robert. Maldonado, began his closing argument by stating that “Adidas does not own the stripes pattern”. After about three hours of deliberation, the jury found Thom Browne Inc. not guilty of the charges against them and not liable for the damages and/or profits made from the sale of their products featuring the four-bar design and the red, white and blue grosgrain ribbon motif. As a show of solidarity, members of the courtroom who were in attendance to show support for Thom Browne Inc. were seen wearing head-to-toe outfits from Thom Browne’s collection.

During his testimony, Browne spoke about his lifelong love of sports and sportswear. His time as a competitive swimmer at Notre Dame, his alum mater where he staged a football theme capsule collection. Thom Browne also recalled a phone call had with Adidas’then CEO about the “Three-Bar Signature” branding, a phone call in which he agreed to stop using the motif. “The last thing I wanted was to get into a fight with a company like Adidas”, Thom Browne stated in his court testimony.

“It’s important to fight and tell my story,” Browne told The Associated Press as he left the courthouse after the verdict. “And I think it's more important and bigger than me because I think I was fighting for every designer that creates something and has a bigger company come after them later”.