In a claim filed by Adidas in the Australian courts, the German sportswear giant has accused Australian boutique women’s streetwear brand, White Fox, of infringing its iconic three-stripe trade mark, by selling clothes bearing four evenly spaced lines of equal thickness.
Adidas alleges that White Fox’s four-striped branding on its newest collection of clothing seeks to take unfair advantage of Adidas’ reputation and causes detriment to the Adidas brand in doing so. To support its claim that White Fox’s designs are “substantially identical with or otherwise deceptively similar” to its own designs, Adidas has filed evidence of online influencers curating outfits featuring shoes from Adidas and clothing from White Fox’s range.
In response, White Fox’s legal team states the company is prepared to resist proceedings in full and points towards several unsuccessful claims issued by Adidas concerning similar allegations levelled at other companies in Australia. It has therefore prepared its defence on the basis of non-infringement, with a trial date expected for the beginning of 2027.
This facts of this particular claim appear to echo those of Adidas’ previous unsuccessful infringement claims against Thom Browne Inc., in which a New York Federal Court, and later the England and Wales High Court (ratified by the Court of Appeal), dismissed Adidas’ claim, with the latter also declaring eight of Adidas’ UK position trade marks invalid. Only time will tell whether Adidas will approach its claim against White Fox in the same manner, and if it will emerge successful in this instance.
If you have any questions on the above, or if you need any advice or support in respect of your own Intellectual Property, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
