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EspañolAdidas loses the battle for exclusivity of its three-stripe mark in Europe
06-12-2025
Adidas suffered a significant blow, as the General Court of the European Union ruled that its characteristic mark of three parallel stripes does not have sufficient distinctive character to be protected as a single European trademark. The decision upheld an earlier 2016 ruling by the EUIPO, prompted by the appeal of the Belgian company Shoe Branding Europe.
The court found that Adidas failed to prove that the sign in question had acquired distinctiveness across all EU member states. According to the decision, the three lines - despite their global recognisability - were regarded as a "simple, ordinary motif" that does not sufficiently distinguish the company's products from those of other businesses.
The decision comes as a continuation of a long-running legal dispute between Adidas and Shoe Branding Europe. The Belgian company had already succeeded in 2009 in registering a mark with two parallel stripes, while Adidas challenged the registration, arguing that it misleads consumers due to its similarity to its own mark. However, the EU Court did not accept Adidas's arguments, stressing that the existence of variations or different applications of the motif was not sufficient to establish a single distinctiveness in the European market.
Although the company has the option to appeal, the decision underlines a critical legal principle: the acquisition of distinctive character must be proven across the entire European Union and not only in selected markets. As a result, Adidas cannot for the time being claim exclusive protection of the three-stripe mark at EU level.