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Luxury brand Thom Browne did not infringe Adidas’s trademarks by printing four stripes on its clothing, a judge at the High Court in London has ruled.
The German sportswear group faced off against the New York design brand earlier this year in the latest round of a long-running global legal dispute over intellectual property.
Thom Browne, known for tight-fitting grey men’s suits that are sometimes accompanied with shorts, and whose garments feature a four-stripe design, sued Adidas in an effort to invalidate its trademarks.
Adidas, which is famous for its three-stripe logo, countersued claiming that the US designer had violated its intellectual property.
In a ruling made public on Friday, Mrs Justice Joanna Smith said a consumer “paying a moderate degree of attention will generally perceive the difference between three stripes and four”.
She said: “If he or she were to be given six seconds . . . then I have no doubt that he or she would have no difficulty whatever in perceiving that difference.”
The court found a handful of Adidas trademarks covering items including tracksuit bottoms and a bag were invalid.
She also found that irrespective of whether the trademarks were valid or not, Thom Browne had not infringed them.
Brand founder Thom Browne, 59, had sported his signature suit — with shorts — when he attended the legal proceedings in July. A clothing rack had been set up with about 20 garments for the judge to examine.
Adidas has also taken legal action to protect its intellectual property in other jurisdictions. It launched proceedings against Thom Browne in 2021 in the US and a New York jury found in favour of Thom Browne last year.
In a statement following the release of the ruling on Friday, the eponymous designer — who is regarded as one of the most influential designers of the past two decades — said “David has prevailed over Goliath”.
Browne, whose garments have been sported by stars including basketball player LeBron James, added: “I see this as a triumph for designers around the world.”
Adidas said it would “carefully review the findings and determine our next steps”. It said it was pleased the court “upheld key aspects of our trademark protection, specifically ruling that the 3-Stripes mark has a strong reputation and is distinctive of Adidas products”.
It added: “Despite certain elements of the decision, Adidas continues to maintain strong trademark protection for our 3-Stripes mark in the UK and globally.”
Thom Browne, which was launched in 2001 in a small shop in Manhattan’s West Village, originally adopted a three-bar motif on its garments but said it had agreed to add a fourth bar after Adidas made a complaint in 2007.
The company is now a part of the Italian family-controlled Ermenegildo Zegna group.
With reporting by Olaf Storbeck in Frankfurt
