Adidas this week brought its latest trademark infringement lawsuit against a company whose products use designs that look too much like its famous three-stripe mark, Adidas insists.
In a complaint filed in a California federal district court, Adidas accuses Fashion Nova of infringement, unfair competition, breach of contract and other claims. Fashion Nova is a fast fashion company that Adidas says has a “penchant for overlooking the intellectual property of others.”
Over the years, Fashion Nova has partnered with Cardi B, Kylie Jenner and other celebrities and social media influencers to advertise what it terms “the world’s leading quick-to-market apparel and lifestyle brand.” Based in Los Angeles, Fashion Nova has five retail stores in Southern California and boasts of “staggering social media followings of over 25 million, of which includes celebrity fans and collaborators.” The company says it was the most searched fashion brand on Google in 2018.
Adidas has previously sued Fashion Nova over apparel and footwear that allegedly used “identical, confusingly similar, or substantially indistinguishable imitations” of the three-stripe mark. The two companies reached a settlement in 2022 in which Fashion Nova agreed to stop selling products that looked like the Adidas three-stripe mark.
However Adidas says Fashion Nova is once again “selling many of the exact same designs it had promised to discontinue.” Adidas also objects to Fashion Nova releasing an “entirely new batch” of footwear and apparel that bears “confusingly similar or substantially indistinguishable imitations” of the three-stripe.
As depicted below in a litigation exhibit Adidas filed, the Fashion Nova items at issue use variations of stripes:
Adidas maintains that other companies (allegedly) infringing on their marks undermines the value of endorsement deals. The complaint lists numerous athletes who wear Adidas apparel and footwear, including Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, tennis player Jessica Pegula and top NFL prospect Travis Hunter. Adidas also stresses that TV and movie stars, social media influencers and musical artists wear the three-stripe mark in connection with sponsorships. Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, Beyoncé and Selena Gomez are among the celebrities Adidas cites.
Represented by Kollin J. Zimmermann and R. Charles Henn Jr. of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Adidas demands an injunction to stop Fashion Nova from continuing to sell the allegedly infringing items. Adidas also demands disgorgement of profits from selling those items and other remedies. The case has been assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Pedro V. Castillo. Adidas v. Fashion Nova follows a similar trademark infringement lawsuit Adidas brought last December against Aviator Nation, a lifestyle brand.
Fashion Nova, which did not respond to a request for comment, will have the chance to answer the complaint and rebut the accusations.
In a previous trademark dispute with Adidas from a few years ago, Fashion Nova denied wrongdoing and countersued Adidas. Fashion Nova accused Adidas of over-policing its trademarks and taking its protection of three equidistant parallel stripes “too far”—including to include “one, two, three, four, even five parallel stripes anywhere on any item of clothing.” Adidas, Fashion Nova argued, “essentially claims that no product can have any number of parallel stripes in any location.”
