Reuters) - Sports apparel giant Adidas reversed its decision 48 hours after the US Trademark Office asked it to deny the Black Lives Matter movement's trademark application featuring three parallel stripes.
Adidas will withdraw its objection to the Black Lives Matter Global Network's trademark application as soon as possible," the German company said.
A source close to the company said the reason for the rapid change in position was due to fears that Adidas' opposition might be understood as a rejection of the Black Lives Matter message.
The company told the Trademark Office on Monday that the design of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation's yellow stripes label resembled its iconic three-stripes and was "potentially confusing".
The German company sought to hinder the group's request to use this design on items it also sells, such as shirts, hats and bags.
Adidas is in financial trouble after ending its lucrative Yeezy shoe partnership with Kanye West over his anti-Semitic comments he made on social media and in interviews.
According to media reports, the sportswear company has also ended its collaboration with singer Beyoncé
Adidas' contract with the pop star is set to expire at the end of this year.In the claim, Adidas said it had used its logo since 1952 and that the Black Lives Matter design could confuse consumers into thinking the two companies' goods were related or from the same source.The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is the best-known entity in the Black Lives Matter movement, which emerged a decade ago to protest police violence against black people.The group applied for a trademark in November 2020 in the form of three yellow stripes to be used on a variety of products including clothing, flyers, bags, bracelets and mugs.Representatives of the Black Lives Matter movement did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.Since 2008, Adidas has filed more than 90 lawsuits and signed more than 200 settlement agreements in connection with its three-stripes trademark, according to court documents from a lawsuit the company filed against American designer Thom Browne.The court ruled in January that the fashion house's logo design did not infringe Adidas' trademark rights.(Reporting by Yahya Khalaf, Amira Zahran and Mahitab Sabri for The Arabic Bulletin - Edited by Soha Jadu)