In 2006 and 2008, Adidas applied to the Trademark Office for territorial extension protection for its graphic trademarks G87666 1 and G948935 (hereinafter referred to as disputed trademarks) registered in Germany and the European Union respectively. After being approved for use in clothes, pants and other commodities, Quanzhou Footwear Chamber of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the Footwear Chamber of Commerce) filed a cancellation dispute.
Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court held that the logo of the disputed trademark is three parallel straight lines with the same length, which can be easily understood as decorative graphics of goods from the visual effect of ordinary consumers.
This graphic is a common clothing decoration graphic in China. It does not have the distinctive features and identification function of trademarks, so any enterprise can not obtain the exclusive right of the "three bars" graphic, thus excluding others from using it. To sum up, Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court made a first-instance judgment on August 20, 20 15, rejecting Adidas' claim.
The objected trademark that Adidas applied for registration in China before 20 19 was re-examined in the Supreme People's Court, but it was not approved for registration.
Extended data:
Adidas launched a "three bars" infringement case around the world, targeting about 50 trademark lawsuits.
Adidas registered this trademark for the first time in 20 14, and thus had a legal dispute with the Belgian footwear company Shoe Branding Europe (with its trademark "Two Bars") for several years.
Adidas filed several trademark lawsuits, including Nike, Puma, Sketcher, Forever 2 1, Mark Jacobs and Tesla.
References:
People's Network-Can Adidas Cross the "Three Bars"?