March 17, 2017

Three Stripes and You’re Out

On March 17, Adidas American, Inc. sued Juicy Couture, Inc., in the District of Oregon (3:17-cv-00437), alleging trademark infringement, unfair competition, trademark dilution, deceptive trade practices, and breach of contract.  This suit comes just a few weeks after Forever 21, frustrated by Adidas’ efforts to eliminate stripes from clothing, sued Adidas and called them a “trademark bully.”

Juicy Couture arguably has three stripes on its clothing, but the stripes are not all the same, whether this is different enough to avoid a likelihood of confusion remains to be seen:

JuicyCouture | Intellectual Property Law Firm | Harness IP

Not all enforcement efforts are legitimate, but neither is all enforcement bullying.