Adidas has filed a Notice of Opposition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO) in response to five trade mark applications filed by the Saudi Arabian professional golf tour, LIV Golf.
LIV Golf, funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, applied to register five trade marks in the US including a figurative mark for its logo which depicts the letter “L” featuring a three stripe black and white pattern.
Adidas has filed the opposition to LIV Golf’s mark on the basis that the logo is too similar to its iconic three-stripe branding. In its filing with the USPTO, Adidas stated “LIV’s logo incorporate(s) three stripes in a manner that is confusingly similar to the Adidas marks in appearance and overall impression.”
The sportswear giant previously lost a recent trade mark battle with fashion designer Thom Browne over his use of an allegedly similar four-stripe design on clothing, therefore it remains to be seen whether they will be successful in this instance.
The filing follows news that Adidas has recently ended long standing sponsorship deals with Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia due to their involvement in the LIV Golf tour ahead of its second season.
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