Adidas retracts opposition to Black Lives Matter logo three-stripe design

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Adidas withdraws opposition to Black Lives Matter’s three-stripe logo design

NBC News reports that Adidas submitted a request to block the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation from using three yellow stripes in its logo.

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After arguing that the three-stripe trademark could confuse consumers, Adidas retracted its opposition to the Black Lives Matter logo with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Wednesday morning.

Adidas filed the opposition to the Black Lives Matter logo on March 27. The logo also features three stripes, but in yellow.

“Adidas will withdraw its opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s trademark application as soon as possible,” the company said in a statement, according to Reuters.

The company has struggled financially since its October breakup Yeezy, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, after he made antisemitic remarks in interviews and on social media. By the end of 2022, the company reported a loss of $540 million.

Attorneys for both Adidas and Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation did not respond for comment on this story.

How is Black Lives Matter using the three stripes?

Black Lives Matter Global Foundation filed their application in September 2021, documenting the logo’s first usage in 2016.

On their website, the three yellow stripes are prominently featured on the website under the Black Lives Matter wordage, and used on their social media accounts.

On their online shop, they sell caps, masks, and apparel that prominently feature the three yellow stripes, but in some designs, feature three white stripes with a yellow stripe in the middle.

Some of the shirts and outerwear feature horizontal and vertical stripes, but do not show similarity to the Adidas stripes in length and color.

What do the adidas three stripes mean?

On a numerological basis, they mean nothing.

But the founder Adolf Dassler, did test out a number of stripes on the sneakers and found that the three stripes photographed well, which was important for “a new-to-the-scene sports gear brand hoping to make a splash,” according to the Adidas blog.

In 1972, the logo changed to include a three shaped foil with three stripes.

By 1991, they used the three stripes in a bar arrangement combined with the Adidas word mark. While the company has changed the logo over the years, their apparel and accessories have maintained the recognizable presence of the three-stripes.

While Adidas has supported the Black Lives Matter movement, by posting it on their Instagram, the photograph did not feature the three-strip design.