Adidas asks US Trademark Office to block Black Lives Matter trademark

Sneaker giant Adidas AG has asked the US Trademark Office to disapproval of an application for a Black Lives Matter trademark with three parallel stripes, arguing it could mislead the public.

Adidas told the office in a Monday filing that Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc's yellow-stripe design would cause confusion with its famous three-stripe mark. It wanted to block the application to use the design on goods that the German sportswear maker also sells, such as shirts, hats and bags.

Adidas didn't say anything about the filing. Representatives for the Black Lives Matter group did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Adidas has been using its logo since 1952, and it has gained international fame and great public recognition, according to the filing. Since 2008, Adidas has filed over 90 lawsuits and signed more than 200 settlements related to the three-stripe trademark, according to court documents from a lawsuit the company brought against designer Thom Browne's fashion house.

A jury in the case decided in January that Thom Browne's stripe patterns did not violate Adidas' trademark rights.

The Black Lives Matter Global Network FoundationBlack Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is the most prominent entity in the Decentralized Black Lives Matter movement, which was formed a decade ago to protest police violence against Black people. The group applied for a federal trademark in November 2020, covering a yellow three-stripe design, to use on a variety of products, including clothing, publications, bags, bracelets and mugs.

In its Monday filing, Adidas said that the group's design was confusingly similar to its logo, and that consumers would think their goods were connected or came from the same source.

The Black Lives Matter group was given until May 6 to answer, according to the Trademark Office.