3-Stripes logo: Adidas waives appeal filed against “Black Live Matters”

Adidas will withdraw an appeal it filed in the United States against the "

" movement whose three yellow stripes logo has caused a dispute over trademark law, a spokesperson for the equipment manufacturer said on Wednesday. .

The German sporting goods group initially filed an appeal with the US Patent and Trademark Office on Monday against 'Black Live Matters' use of three yellow stripes, the logo of the anti-racism movement, on clothing , bags and other websites, according to concurring sources.

The three parallel lines are the visual identity of Adidas and a registered trademark of the group often nicknamed "

".

"

," an Adidas spokesperson said Wednesday.

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The group did not explain the reasons behind this renunciation which could be motivated by the possible repercussions on the image of Adidas.

The suit, if pursued, could have been misconstrued as a direct criticism of Adidas of Black Lives Matter's mission, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The United States Patent Office (USPTO) indicates on its website that the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation filed its trademark application in September 2021. Black Lives Matter is a movement created in 2013 that actively promotes the defense of the rights of the black community.

This movement became the spearhead of the fight against racism after the murder of African-American George Floyd by a white police officer in May 2020.

Adidas for its part is still digesting the brutal end of its long fruitful collaboration with the American rapper Kanye West - known under the name of Ye -, due to the multiple slippages of the artist.

The latter had notably appeared at a fashion show in Paris wearing a shirt displaying “

”, a slogan created in reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement.