AdAge and Josh Gerben Discuss Adidas’ Opposition to a Black Lives Matter Trademark

Adidas has been very aggressive in the protecting of its three-stripe trademark. Most recently the sports apparel company has filed an Opposition with the USPTO to block the registration of a three-stripe logo for the Black Lives Matter organization.

AdAge discussed this Opposition with trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who spotted the court action. 

“Adidas would face an uphill battle in winning this case,” wrote Josh Gerben, via email. “It seems unlikely that consumers are going to confuse the ‘three yellow stripe’ logo associated with Black Lives Matter to the Adidas stripes.”

Gerben notes, that Adidas’ goal, however, may be to simply limit how Black Lives Matter uses its particular mark.

Source: Pasquarelli, Adrianne. Adage.com. “Adidas Opposes Black Lives Matter’s 3-Stripe Trademark Application”. 28 March 2023.