Nike partially wins appeal over stripe dispute with Adidas in Germany

Nike can put three stripes on some of its pants designs in Germany, a court ruled Tuesday, in a second appeal hearing pitting the American sportswear maker against smaller rival Adidas.

The Düsseldorf regional court had already banned the American firm from using two or three stripes in five of its pants designs after Adidas filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in 2022.

Nike can now use the stripes on four of the disputed models, while the ban on one remaining model remains in place, the court said, partially overturning the earlier decision.

The three parallel stripes are a well-known Adidas trademark that they work tirelessly to protect in various courts around the world.

However, a year ago, the German brand decided to revoke its legal filing against Black Lives Matter's yellow three-stripe logo, concerned that its objection could be seen as criticism of the anti-racist organization.

Nike claims that Adidas' scope of protection is too limited and claims that the striped decoration does not necessarily relate to the brand it belongs to.