The Fashion blog reports……
Adidas has garnered itself a reputation for being particularly litigious when it comes to its famed three-stripe trademark, and it is proving just as unwelcoming of plays in its brand name as well. The German sportswear giant does not sell products for pets with its name on them, and it does not want you to either. That was the general takeaway when adidas initiated a trademark fight before the Japan Patent Office (“JPO”) early this year, asking the national intellectual property body to cancel a pending trademark application for the word “adidog” for use on clothing for dogs.
In its opposition filing in January, as first reported by Osaka-based attorney Masaki Mikami, adidas pointed to Article 4(1)(xv) of the Japan Trademark Law, which prohibits the registration of a trademark that is likely to cause confusion amongst consumers as to the source of products bearing the mark, in furtherance of its effort to have the pending “adidog” application tossed out. Adidas claimed that due to the high degree of similarity between its famous, trademark protected-name and the “adidog” mark, consumers would be likely to think that it was affiliated with or otherwise endorsed the use of the “adidog” mark when that is not the case.
Adidas asserted that such consumer confusion would be bolstered due to the significant level of consumer awareness in connection with the adidas brand across the globe due to adidas’ consistent and exclusive use of its trademark-protected name in Japan for nearly 50 years, as well as “the close relatedness/proximity of goods in question,” and the JPO agreed, thereby, dismissing the “adidog” application.
More at http://www.thefashionlaw.com/home/adidas-prevails-in-trademark-fight-of-adidog-pet-clothing
