Adidas sues Australian label White Fox over ‘deceptively similar’ four stripes design

Adidas has launched legal action against Sydney-born fashion brand White Fox boutique for selling and advertising clothes with a four-striped design.The German sportswear company said the Australian label has clothes "deceptively similar" to its trademarked design.Adidas filed the case in the Federal Court of Australia after repeatedly warning White Fox to stop selling and promoting the clothes since March. It said the company refused.White Fox Boutique, which was founded in 2013 by Daniel and Georgia Contos, denied any breach of trademark in court on Friday as the hearing began.White Fox has yet to file a formal defence, but its lawyers told justice Ian Jackman that the company plans to argue that other major Australian brands, including Cotton On, Sportscraft and Glassons, also sell clothing featuring “similar decorative stripes”.Adidas alleges that White Fox has been advertising and selling clothing featuring four parallel stripes of equal width since at least March (Federal Court of Astralia)Lawyers for Adidas told the court that White Fox has "intention to trade off our reputation" with its advertisements and by selling clothes with four stripes.Adidas claim its three-striped design has a "substantial and valuable reputation" in the Australian market, where it has been trademarked since 1957. Adidas alleges that White Fox has been advertising and selling clothing featuring four parallel stripes of equal width since at least March, infringing its trademark.The German sportswear giant claims the designs are “substantially identical with or otherwise deceptively similar” to its own branding.It further alleges that White Fox has used models wearing “genuine” Adidas products in advertisements promoting its four-striped clothing and branded socks.Adidas argued in court documents that the advertisements could mislead Australian consumers into believing it is associated with White Fox or has endorsed its designs.The company accuses White Fox of “drawing an association in the minds of consumers” between the two brands, or at the very least “sailing close to the wind”.Adidas is also seeking damages from the Australian brand. It said White Fox must pay them the profit from the products plus interest and costs.The court filing by Adidas included pictures that showed side-by-side comparisons of its clothing with White Fox’s. It included products such as sweatpants, socks and lounge shorts.According to court documents, Adidas pointed to a June 2025 online advertisement for White Fox socks in which the model was wearing pink Adidas shoes.The sportswear giant alleged that White Fox subsequently edited the image after legal proceedings began last month, initially removing one stripe from the Adidas logo on the shoes before digitally erasing all three stripes a week later.The sportswear giant reported €24.8bn (£21bn) in revenue in 2025.The German sportswear giant, founded in 1949 by Adolf “Adi” Dassler, remains hugely popular among teenagers and young adults across the world. Known for its distinctive three-stripe logo, Adidas has become a global brand through its association with leading athletes, sports teams and major sporting events.