Advertisement

Adidas accuses California soccer clothing company of infringing on its logo

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.


German athletic clothing company Adidas is apparently pretty serious about defending its three-stripe logo.

Adidas and its U.S. subsidiary, Adidas America Inc., have filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles, accusing a Gardena company of selling soccer clothing with “confusingly similar imitations of Adidas’ three-stripe mark.”

Advertisement

The lawsuit, filed Oct. 21, seeks monetary damages and a court order prohibiting Conrad Asher Licensing Group Inc. from marketing clothing that infringes on Adidas’ trademark. Conrad Asher’s merchandise is so similar to Adidas’ that it ‘is likely to deceive, confuse and mislead purchasers’ into believing it was manufactured by Adidas, the lawsuit said.

Conrad Asher did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit said that Adidas first placed three stripes on its athletic shoes more than 50 years ago and has several trademarks for the logo.

Adidas is particularly well-known among soccer fans and is the exclusive apparel provider for Major League Soccer, numerous international soccer club teams and for many national teams, including 2010 World Cup champion Spain.

“The public recognizes and understands that the three-stripe mark distinguishes and identifies Adidas’ merchandise,” the company said in the lawsuit.

Conrad Asher, a privately held company, said on its website that it has been manufacturing and distributing soccer apparel in the United States and Mexico for more than five years. Its current line includes shirts, soccer balls, caps, beanies, backpacks and other accessories.

-- Stuart Pfeifer

Advertisement