Nike’s bid to trademark the word “FOOTWARE” for tech-related products has failed in the face of opposition from rival sportswear giant, Puma.

The General Court of the European Union, the bloc’s second-highest court, dismissed Nike’s trademark application and ordered it to pay legal costs to Puma.

In support of its trademark application, Nike claimed that “footware”, was a play on words between “foot” and “software” or “hardware,” However, German based Puma objected, arguing that at least some consumers would misread the term “footware” as “footwear” and “therefore will only see the sign ‘footware’ as descriptive information,” a product category that cannot be trademarked.

Nike have made similar applications to trademark the term in the UK and the United States. In 2021 the U.K. High Court granted the trademark, despite Puma’s opposition and complaints that “footware” could mislead some consumers.  In the U.S, however, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board refused Nike’s trademark application earlier this year.

Nike may now appeal the decision to the European Court of Justice.