Due to a “confusingly similar” issue, Adidas filed a lawsuit against LIV Golf.
As a result of allegations that the logo for the golf tour bears striking resemblances to Adidas’ own logo, the iconic sportswear company has now denied several trademark applications by LIV Golf.
Asserting that the logo of the Saudi golf tour is too similar to their famous three stripes image, sportswear behemoth Adidas has attempted to thwart five trademark applications by LIV Golf.
With the U.S., the German company has submitted a Notice of Opposition.
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Due to the emphasis placed on the alleged similarities by Patent and Trademark.
They asserted that the LIV Golf logo “incorporate[s] three stripes in a manner that is confusingly similar to the adidas Marks in appearance and overall commercial impression.”.
The golf tour had made an attempt to secure its protection by filing for a trademark for the stylized “L” that appears in the LIV Golf logo. Of course, the three stripes from the iconic Adidas logo also appear on many of their other products.
According to the business, customers are “familiar with the goods and services long associated with the adidas Marks.”. As a result, they claim that consumers “are likely to assume” that products and services bearing the LIV Golf logo “originate from the same source” or “are affiliated, connected, or associated with Adidas.”.
Although trademark lawyer Josh Gerben has stated that Adidas is unlikely to succeed in their case, it is still unclear whether they will.
However, it is still conceivable to reach a settlement that restricts the use of LIV’s “L” logo on goods.
Gerben added that a recent precedent case does indicate that Adidas might have trouble winning the case.
I don’t think Adidas will win this case, he said.
Adidas recently lost a similar lawsuit against Thom Browne, demonstrating that the company does not own the exclusive right to “stripes on clothing.”.
After some golfers joined LIV Golf, they severed ties with Adidas with whom they had previously contracted athletes. One illustration of this was Dustin Johnson, who had a long-standing relationship with the company before they “mutually agreed” to end it.
We have mutually decided to part ways with long-time Adidas athlete Dustin Johnson, Adidas Golf President Jeff Lienhart announced to ESPN. Dustin has been a great representative of the Adidas brand for more than 15 years.
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Sergio Garcia, the captain of the Fireballs GC team in the LIV Golf League, similarly made the decision not to have Adidas renew their partnership. A major roadblock for both parties in this situation, according to a source who spoke to ESPN, was the sponsorship model used by the LIV Golf League.
This involves a scheme to sell advertising space on shirts, much like the Premier League, NASCAR, and Formula 1 do with their cars.
According to the source, “as great as the relationship with Adidas has been, it just didn’t fit in his plans.
