Adidas Nonetheless Seeks New Trial Over Thom Browne Stripes

It’s now within the arms of the decide.

Adidas on Thursday filed its response to Thom Browne’s movement to dismiss its request for a brand new trial of their ongoing dispute over stripes.

Adidas America and Adidas AG sued the designer for trademark infringement for his use of 4 stripes, searching for damages and income they alleged the American designer created from promoting attire and footwear with stripes.

In January, an eight-person jury in Manhattan Southern District Court docket got here again with a verdict that discovered the designer was not answerable for damages or income that it made promoting merchandise with 4 stripes or its trademark grosgrain ribbon.

However final month, Adidas found 4 emails that it characterised as “dangerous religion” that weren’t disclosed by Thom Browne throughout the discovery interval for the unique trial, the corporate mentioned in court docket papers. These emails, which dated between 2016 and 2019, had been from staff who cautioned the designer about utilizing particular stripe designs in his collections as a result of they might doubtlessly create confusion with Adidas. The emails surfaced in August throughout a separate trademark dispute between the 2 firms within the U.Ok.

Earlier this month, Thom Browne argued that three of the 4 emails in query are about product that was being designed for the Spanish soccer group FC Barcelona, whereas the fourth issues a retail retailer in Asia. Because of this, the emails don’t reference the accused product on the middle of the litigation right here and don’t warrant a brand new trial.

In papers filed Thursday, Adidas’ attorneys argued that the dangerous religion emails “are extremely related” to the case and nonetheless prone to create confusion amongst customers within the U.S.

“Thom Browne’s personal paperwork present that the corporate straight focused U.S. customers in advertising the FC Barcelona collaboration,” the papers confirmed. “Each Thom Browne and its mother or father firm credit score the collaboration with will increase in web site site visitors from U.S. customers and better gross sales within the U.S.” And the “world attain of FC Barcelona was a key purpose Thom Browne collaborated with the membership,” the submitting mentioned, citing 315 million followers of the group globally.

The papers additionally cited that Ermenegildo Zegna, mother or father of Thom Browne, reported to buyers that the designer’s three-year take care of FC Barcelona “introduced vital visibility of the model and its iconic merchandise to a world viewers.”

The papers went on to say that the emails reference using a four-bar design on fits and equipment, and whereas these classes weren’t a part of the lawsuit, the workers mentioned they might nonetheless lead to confusion when used “within the soccer context” or “the sporting world.”

Because of this, Adidas’ request for a brand new trial ought to be granted, the papers mentioned, as a result of if the emails had been offered to the jury, they “doubtless would have modified the trial’s consequence.”

The Adidas argument mentioned that not turning over the emails, even when it was unintentional, means the model dedicated “misconduct that considerably interfered with Adidas’ potential to completely and pretty current its case” and a brand new trial is warranted.

In response, a spokesperson from Thom Browne, instructed WWD: “As we specified by our opposition, the emails in query weren’t deliberately withheld and don’t have anything to do with the problems determined by the jury. None of Adidas’ claims come anyplace near assembly the extraordinarily excessive burden of disregarding a jury’s verdict.”

The case now returns to the decide who will make a dedication. No timetable was provided.