Good news for Thom Browne today, as a US Appeals Court refused to overturn the 2023 jury verdict that found the brand’s use of four stripes and a grosgrain ribbon, did not infringe upon Adidas’s three stripe trademark.

Adidas initially took legal action against Browne in 2021. Browne has been using the four stripes since stripes 2007, when Adidas said a jacket which the company produced that had three stripes, was too close to its trademarked design. The designer modified his work in response. in 2018,  Thom Browne applied for a trademark of its Grosgrain Signature — a red, white and blue-varsity stripe logo — in Europe and expanded into sportswear. Adidas, in turn, approached Thom Browne for a settlement and when the luxury brand refused, Adidas filed a trademark infringement lawsuit, claiming that the brand was “selling athletic-style apparel and footwear featuring two, three or four parallel stripes in a manner that is confusingly similar to Adidas’s three-stripe mark,” and sought $867,225 in damages, as well as the $7,011,961 in profits. Fortunately for Thom Browne, the jury did not agree.

Adidas has been using its three-stripe logo since the 1950s, and has not been shy in protecting its trademark. The company has filed more than 90 lawsuits and reached more than 200 settlements related to the trademark since 2008, including against Marc Jacobs and Juicy Couture.

In its appeal against the 2023 jury decision, Adidas said U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff gave the jury incorrect instructions on how to determine whether Thom Browne’s clothing would confuse consumers. The Appeals Court rejected the argument.

The case is Adidas America Inc v. Thom Browne Inc, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-166.