The EU's General Court on March 1 permitted Adidas AG to oppose Shoe Branding Europe BVBA's registration of two parallel stripes as an EU trademark due to its resemblance to the German sportswear maker's iconic design.
Shoe Branding failed to demonstrate due cause for the requested design, the court said, adding that the design could risk taking "unfair advantage" of Adidas' three-stripes design.
The Luxembourg-based General Court affirmed previous rulings by the European Union Intellectual Property Office in favor of Adidas that were made in 2015 and 2016. It dismissed a petition by Shoe Branding challenging the previous decisions.
Adidas had also won in November 2017 a cease and desist order against H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB, barring the Swedish apparel maker from using a two-stripe pattern on its exercise apparel.
