Adidas US appeal attempt against Thom Browne blocked

A long-running trademark dispute between Adidas and Thom Browne has moved closer to a conclusion, after a US appeals court upheld an earlier ruling in favour of the luxury label.

In a decision issued on April 29, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit confirmed that the case would not be reopened, backing a 2023 jury verdict which found Thom Browne not liable for trademark infringement.

The case began in 2021, when Adidas accused Thom Browne of infringing its signature stripe trademarks through similar designs used on activewear. A jury later ruled in favour of Thom Browne, and the decision was upheld by a district court.

Adidas sought to revisit the case after obtaining internal emails from separate UK litigation, which it argued showed concerns within Thom Browne about similarities to Adidas’ designs. The company claimed this amounted to new evidence and requested the judgment be set aside.

However, the appeals court has now ruled that the emails were not sufficient to change the outcome of the case. It found that the materials reflected internal opinions rather than evidence of consumer confusion, which is central to trademark disputes.

The court also stated that the emails were not directly related to the products examined during the trial and would not have altered the jury’s decision.

In addition, the court rejected claims of misconduct in the handling of evidence, concluding that any issues were the result of negligence rather than intentional wrongdoing.