Adidas has lost a European Court battle to trademark their three stripes logo. The brand is best known in Ireland for recent deals with Leinster and Munster Rugby, and the Olympic Federation of Ireland.
The brand confirmed a five year deal with Leinster in May of last year.
It also signed a one year deal through McKeever Sports to provide kit to the Team ireland representatives at the European Games in Minsk and at next months European Youth Olympic Festival in Baku.
While it is a blow it is not thought likely to make a significant difference in the continued use of the three stripes or in the massive amount of marketing that goes into the goods that bear them.
Ireland has always been an outlier in the Adidas empire because of a Supreme Court ruling in 1983 that threw out a case taken by Adidas against O’Neill’s.
The Irish manufacturer argued it had long used the three stripes as its own and the court found this was of material importance so we still have so many of our GAA jerseys that carry the three stripes.
If you went to buy a London GAA jersey though, or a Dublin or Kerry one in England they would come without the stripes.
It can be a complex world staying on top of all the rules and regulations in different countries as well as the higher level of Europe.
Earlier this year Ireland was central to another European Copyright case when it took on McDonald’s over the use of the Big Mac term and won.
Adidas has long term deals in place with the rugby provinces and with a market value of over €12 Billion it is unlikely to be beaten down by smaller rivals as a result of the ruling.
Adidas issued a statement last night saying that the ruling “does not impact on the broad scope of protection that Adidas has on its well-known three-stripe mark in various forms in Europe.”
There will not be any rebranding of the mark, first placed on a boot in 1949 and still, despite the thoughts of a European judge, one of the most distinctive logos in the world.
