Adidas Challenges Manufacturer's Logo Limitation on Tennis Wear

On June 7, 2006, an English High Court granted an injunction to the German sportswear company, adidas-Salomon AG (adidas), allowing players to sport the company's distinctive three stripe design on their clothing during the upcoming Wimbledon Championships and the US Open. In October 2004, rival clothing companies including Nike, Puma and Reebok wrote to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), complaining that clothes featuring the adidas three stripe design infringed the IOC dress code because it exceeded the permitted size of manufacturer's logos. In the spring of 2005, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Grand Slam Committee (GSC) decided that the adidas design should be categorized as a "manufacturer's logo" and subject to the size and placement limitations set out in the ITF and GSC regulations. Adidas argued that these decisions breached European competition law, specifically Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty, and claimed that the three stripe design is not a standard logo but rather a "distinctive design element". In his judgment, Chancellor Andrew Morritt held that "adidas has a real prospect of success in its claim, [and] that the GSC decision and the ITF decision were and are incompatible with Article 81 and may, at the trial, be declared to have been void." The trial itself is expected to start in early October. For related news stories, see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5055398.stm; http://makeashorterlink.com/?E3EE26D4D; and http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20060607/ca_pr_on_te/ten_adidas_injuction To read the full text of the injunction decision (addidas-Salomon AG v Draper and Howorth et al, 2006 EWHC 1318 [Ch]), visit: http://makeashorterlink.com/?V2FE63D4D Summary by: Clare McCurley