To most of us, three stripes is synonymous with Adidas and its
branding. However, the recent decision of the General Court serves
as a vital reminder for businesses on the importance of strategic
planning before filing your trade marks, even for big brands.
Adidas was trying to claim a broader scope for this European
Union trade mark than was granted in its application:
The registration also included the description: "The mark
consists of three parallel equidistant stripes of identical width,
applied on the product in any direction".
On 19th June 2019 the General Court confirmed the invalidity of
the above European Union Trade Mark registration, upholding an
earlier decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office
Second Board of Appeal.
