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Is the three stripes a patent of Adidas?

No.

In 2006 and 2008, Adidas filed a complaint with the Trademark Office about its "three-stripes" graphic trademarks No. G876661 and No. G948935 registered in Germany and the EU respectively (hereinafter collectively referred to as the disputed trademarks) in China. After the application for extended protection was approved for use on tops, pants and other products, the Quanzhou Shoe Chamber of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the Shoe Chamber of Commerce) filed a dispute to withdraw it.

The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court held after trial that the mark of the disputed trademark is three parallel straight lines of equal length. From the visual observation of ordinary consumers, it can easily be understood as a decorative graphic of the product.

This graphic is a common clothing decoration graphic in China. It does not have the distinctive features and identification functions that a trademark should have, and no company can obtain the exclusive trademark rights of the "three stripes" graphic to exclude it. Use by Others. In summary, the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court issued a first-instance judgment on August 20, 2015, rejecting Adidas's lawsuit.

The opposed trademark that Adidas applied for registration in China before 2019 was ultimately not approved for registration after retrial by the Supreme People's Court.

Extended information:

Adidas has initiated "three stripes" infringement cases around the world and has been the subject of about 50 trademark lawsuits.

Adidas first registered this trademark in 2014, which resulted in a several-year legal dispute with the Belgian shoe company Shoe Branding Europe (whose trademark is "two stripes").

Adidas has filed multiple trademark lawsuits, targeting Nike, Puma, Skechers, Forever 21 and Marc Jacobs, among others, including Tesla.

Reference: People's Daily Online - Can Adidas cross the "three stripes"?