Adidas has backtracked on its trademark dispute with Black Lives Matter just days after asking the US Trademark Office to reject the organisation's application.
“Adidas will withdraw its opposition to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s trademark application as soon as possible,” the German sportswear company said in a statement.
A source close to the company said that the rapid u-turn was triggered by a concern that the objection could be seen as a criticism of the movement, according to Reuters.
The company requested on Monday that BLM’s trademark be rejected on the grounds it would create confusion with its own three-stripe mark.
BLM Global Network Foundation is a separate entity within the decentralised BLM movement and applied for a US trademark in 2020.
The design featured a yellow three-stripe logo to use in merchandise, including clothing and bags.
Adidas said the proposed design “incorporates three stripes in a manner that is confusingly similar to the Three-Stripe Mark in appearance and overall commercial impression,” quoted in Yahoo News.
The company claimed that consumers are “likely to assume” that products offered under BLM’s logo “originate from the same source, or that they’re affiliated, connected, or associated with or sponsored by Adidas.”