Adidas quickly withdraws trademark complaint against Black Lives Matter

Adidas AG aired its trademark complaint against the decentralized political and social movement Black Lives Matter for its logo design. The German sneaker and sports apparel maker said the group violates its three-stripe trademark, so it wants the United States Patent and Trademark Office to reject BLM’s trademark application.

Adidas made a request for the USPTO to deny Black Lives Matter’s trademark, which shows the similar three stripes that are arranged in parallel positions. The company said that this could mislead the public, Reuters reported.

Adidas told USPTO via a filing earlier this week that the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc's yellow stripe design will cause confusion because it is similar to its famous three-stripe logo design. It is asking the agency to block BLMGNF’s trademark application as the group intends to use the design on its merchandise, like bags and shirts that Adidas also sells.

In a quick about-face move, Adidas said it would no longer oppose Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s trademark application. This happened just a day after the news of its trademark complaint came out.

The company told FOX Business it intends to retract its opposition to the movement’s trademark application as soon as possible. The publication tried to contact the foundation for comments but did not receive a reply at the time of the news publication.

Adidas filed pertinent documents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Wednesday, March 29, to pull out its objection request. The company’s lawyers stated that the firm "respectfully requested for its opposition to be withdrawn without prejudice."

Meanwhile, Adidas lodged the complaint against Black Lives Matter on Tuesday, and this was said to be a partial objection to the movement’s trademark application that was already submitted to the trademark office.

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