Los Angeles, CA – adidas and Reebok have teamed up to sue three defendants for trademark infringement arising from the sale of shoes bearing adidas’ three stripe trademark and Reebok’s stripecheck trademark. Adidas alleges that it began using the three-stripe trademark on athletic shoes as early as 1952 and has registered several marks with the USPTO. Reebok alleges a 1975 date of first use for the stylized checkmark and intersecting stripes design mark used on athletic shoes. Reebok has also registered its trademarks with the USPTO.
Defendants Twin Best, JCK Group, and Skywide International are accused of selling shoes with four stripes and others with an exact reproduction of Reebok’s Stripecheck mark. Plaintiffs allege that “Defendants intentionally designed and manufactured their footwear to mislead and deceive consumers into believing it was manufactured, sold, authorized, or licensed by Plaintiffs.” The case is Adidas AG, et al. v. Twin Best, Inc., et al., CV10-3608 MMM (C.D. Cal. 2010).
Michael Atkins has meticulously covered adidas’ 2 vs. 3 vs. 4 stripe trademark victory against Payless Shoes here.