Trademark Infringement Litigation Commenced In Los Angeles By Adidas Over Shoes: Trademark Litigation Attorneys

Los Angeles, CA – Trademark litigation attorneys for Adidas filed a trademark infringement, trademark dilution and Lanham Act 43(a) unfair competition lawsuit – against other shoe manufacturers – at the Los Angeles Federal District Court. Adidas has registered numerous trademarks with the USPTO for its Three-Stripe design, which it began using on shoes in 1952. The complaint asserts that Adidas’ sales of products bearing the Three-Stripe trademark have totaled in the billions of dollars globally in recent years. Adidas also has exclusive agreements with athletes, including David Beckham, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Tracy McGrady to promote its footwear and sports apparel.

Adidas alleges that “Defendants’ use of confusingly similar imitations of Adidas’s Three-Stripe Trademark is likely to deceive, confuse, and mislead prospective purchasers and purchasers into believing that shoes sold by Defendants is manufactured by, authorized by, or in some manner associated with Adidas, which it is not. The likelihood of confusion, mistake, and deception engendered by Defendants’ misappropriation of Adidas’s mark is causing irreparable harm to the goodwill symbolized by the Three-Stripe Trademark and the reputation of quality that it embodies.” The complaint asserts the following causes of action: (1) Federal trademark infringement 15 U.S.C. § 1114; (2) Federal unfair competition under section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a); (3) Lanham Act dilution of famous trademark under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c); (4) State unfair and deceptive trade practices under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200; and, (5) Common law trademark infringement and unfair competition. The case is titled Adidas America, Inc. v. Wah Lei Footwear (U.S.A.) Corporation, et al., CV08-04969 JFW (C.D. Cal. 2008). The other named defendants are Fu Ju (U.S.A.) Group, Inc., LA Discount Shoes, Sunny Shoes Corp., and Top Shoes, Inc.