Portland, Ore. — Sportswear giant Adidas faced resistance in federal court this week. The company defended its trademark claims against Hall of Fame Sports Memorabilia. The retailer is accused of infringing Adidas’s iconic three-stripe design. The alleged infringement involved collectible soccer jerseys.
Adidas filed a suit in 2024. The lawsuit alleges that Hall of Fame’s Real Madrid and Argentina jerseys copied its registered three-stripe mark. The jerseys have stripes running from the collar to the shoulder. Adidas argued these stripes were confusingly similar to its trademarked sleeve stripes.
The company also accused Hall of Fame of counterfeiting, dilution, and trade dress infringement.
But U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeff Armistead questioned whether Adidas had adequately tied its registered trademarks to the products in dispute. Hall of Fame’s attorneys argued that Adidas’ registrations specifically cover stripes running down sleeves of shirts, not designs ending at the shoulder.
Judge Armistead pressed Adidas on the scope of its claim:
“Is it malleable and amorphous? Can it be anything that has three vertical or semi-vertical lines?”
In admitting the strong brand presence of Adidas, Armistead cited the lack of specificity in Adidas’ pleadings to prove infringement and counterfeiting. Moreover, he questioned the trade dress claim because the jerseys were adorned with the trademarks of other businesses.
Adidas argued that a jersey is a legal term for a shirt and claimed that the three-stripe mark is a single branding device. “This is an outright copy of the three-stripe mark,” stated Adidas’ lawyer Charles Hooker III.
Hall of Fame denied the accusations, indicating that the jerseys were available only as memorabilia and have thus been removed and eliminated.
Armistead suggested that he would probably be inclined to grant Adidas permission to change their complaint, meaning the matter is still unsettled.
