Adidas has filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court of Australia against White Fox Boutique, BBC reported, alleging that White Fox's four-striped clothing design infringes its three-stripe trademark. The German sportswear maker claims the design on White Fox garments is substantially identical to or deceptively similar to its own trademarked logo, which it has held in Australia since 1957.
Adidas said it first requested White Fox cease selling the products on 19 March, but the Australian fashion label refused. Adidas representatives then gathered further evidence including photographs of White Fox advertising on buses and at bus stops taken between April and June, and acquired another 12 four-striped items from White Fox between May and July. White Fox's social media indicates it began selling four-striped products in January.
The sportswear maker reported revenue of €24.8 billion in 2025, while White Fox generated AU$542m in the year to June 2025 and spent $52m on marketing in the same period. White Fox advertisements appear on buses and billboards across Sydney, London and Los Angeles. The court filings were initially lodged in September, with an update made.
Adidas alleges that a June 2025 online product listing showed White Fox-branded socks modelled by someone wearing pink Adidas shoes, and that after court proceedings were lodged, one stripe was digitally removed from the Adidas logo on shoes visible in that listing. The sportswear maker argues its three-stripe mark carries a substantial and valuable reputation in Australia, and that White Fox advertising featuring people in genuine Adidas products could cause consumers to believe Adidas endorsed or was connected to White Fox.
Among the remedies Adidas seeks are an injunction against further sales, a declaration of unlawful conduct, and payment of White Fox's profits together with damages, interest and costs. The law firms representing both companies declined to comment. Adidas won a 2013 Australian case against Pacific Brands over shoes with four parallel stripes.
Businesses operating in Australia that use stripe-based branding on clothing may face trademark infringement proceedings from Adidas if the design is found to be substantially identical to or deceptively similar to its three-stripe mark. If the court rules in Adidas's favour, White Fox would be required to stop selling the four-striped products and pay Adidas its profits on those products, plus damages, interest and costs.
Reporting: BBC, The Guardian
Written by Pick & Scroll News from the reporting and documents linked above.
