adidas Backs Off Of Trademark Lawsuit Against Black Lives Matter
Written by djfrosty on March 30, 2023
Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
Ever since Kanye West went “death con 3” on the Jewish community, adidas has been experiencing a decline in both popularity, maybe, and sales, definitely. So it was surprising that the three-stripe brand decided to pick a legal fight specifically with the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation over their use of a logo that resembled the three stripes that adidas is known for.
Reuters is reporting that adidas has decided to back off its lawsuit and have retracted its initial claims just days after taking Black Lives Matter to court saying that the organization’s logo was “likely to cause confusion” between adidas and BLM. Though the three parallel lines that BLM was using did resemble the look on the Fear of God x adidas sneakers that leaked the other day, the brand isn’t looking for another public relations disaster just months after Kanye West put them on the hot seat with his antisemitic outbursts.
From Reuters:
“Adidas will withdraw its opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s trademark application as soon as possible,” said the German athleticwear company in a statement.
A source close to the company said the rapid about-turn was triggered by concern that people could misinterpret Adidas’ trademark objection as criticism of Black Lives Matter’s mission.
Good call, adidas. Still, the German sports brand did rescind its “opposition without prejudice,” which means they reserve the right to once again take BLM to court on the same grounds in the future when they don’t have as much heat on them in the public eye. That could take a while as their popularity out in these streets is still struggle post-Yeezy. Outside of their Fear of God collaboration, it doesn’t seem like they have any heat dropping anytime in the near future.
With Kanye West basically radioactive these days and Beyoncé and her Ivy Park brand out the door, adidas doesn’t have much going for them these days. Suing Black Lives Matter might’ve proved too much to recover from.
Black Lives Matter meanwhile was trying to get in the merchandise game and “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.”
We not gonna lie, we might be coping some three-stripe BLM merch once it drops. Just sayin’.
What do y’all think of adidas suing Black Lives Matter over their trademark and then backtracking just a few days later? Let us know in the comments section below.