Adidas runs ahead of Sketchers in Trademark infringement battle

The trademark infringement battle between sportswear giant Adidas and footwear company Skechers will hopefully be coming to a close next month as the full trial is set to take place in Portland District Court division on June 4^th.

Adidas filed the suit against Sketchers in 2015, claiming trade dress and trademark infringement on two of Skechers shoe designs.

The trademark in question is the Adidas three stripe design in which almost all shoes produced by adidas have on the side.

In the 2015 suit, Adidas wanted Sketchers to stop selling its “Onix” trainer claiming it looked like their “Stan Smith” shoe.

The court granted the preliminary injunction however Skechers made an appeal to the Ninth Circuit which upheld the injunction.

Adidas claimed their reasoning behind the suit was that the Stan Smith product has a “specific reputation” with “intangible benefits”.

Through a spokesperson Adidas claim that they had “no doubt” that the ninth circuit would recognise the “unlawful and infringing behaviour” of Skechers.

Adidas have also expressed that they will not allow others to blatantly copy their products or infringe on their intellectual property.  

By Tristan Trezise, a student at Crofton Secondary School