Adidas drops opposition to Black Lives Matter's three-stripe design within 48 hours
1 min read 29 Mar 2023, 06:24 PM ISTAdidas had told the trademark office in a Monday filing that the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation's yellow-stripe design so closely resembles its own famous three-stripe mark that it is 'likely to cause confusion'
PremiumSportswear maker Adidas AG on Wednesday retracted its opposition to Black Lives Matter's three stripe design, only forty eight hours after registering their complaint with the US Trademark agency.
"Adidas will withdraw its opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation's trademark application as soon as possible," the company said in a statement.
Several agencies reported that people familiar with the matter attributed the sudden about turn in Adidas's decision to a concern that people could misinterpret Adidas' trademark objection as criticism of Black Lives Matter's mission.
The German sportswear giant Monday requested the US Trademark Office reject Black Lives Matter's bid for the design to be used on clothing, bags and elsewhere, according to a source close to the matter.
Adidas had told the trademark office in a Monday filing that the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation's yellow-stripe design so closely resembles its own famous three-stripe mark that it is "likely to cause confusion".
An Adidas spokesman told AFP that "we are already in the process of withdrawing our opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation's trademark application".
Adidas said Wednesday it will drop its opposition to a Black Lives Matter application for a trademark with a three-stripe design, which it initially complained was too similar to its own logo.
Adidas did not officially say why they were withdrawing the complaint.
But the source close to the matter said that pursuing the case could have been misinterpreted as Adidas criticising the aims of the anti-racism movement.
The US Trademark Office said on its website that the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation -- a prominent organisation in the decentralised movement -- had filed the trademark request in September 2021.
The Black Lives Matter movement came into being in the United States about a decade ago in an effort to fight racism, especially in the form of police brutality.
It was reignited in 2020 by the killing of George Floyd, a black man whose videotaped death under the knee of a white police officer was viewed millions of times.
Adidas has faced a series of problems in recent times, notably the end of its high-profile, lucrative partnership with Kanye West after the rapper made a series of anti-Semitic outbursts.
The firm has forecast massive losses for this year linked to the end of the tie-up.
