Adidas sues White Fox in Sydney court over four-stripe clothing designs
Adidas has begun legal action in Sydney against Australian brand White Fox, saying its four-stripe clothing is deceptively similar to Adidas's three-stripe logo and confuses customers.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Adidas has begun legal action in Sydney against Australian fashion brand White Fox, accusing it of selling and advertising clothing with a four-stripe design that is deceptively similar to Adidas's three-stripe logo. The German sportswear company says White Fox has repeatedly refused to withdraw the garments and adverts. White Fox has not responded to requests for comment.
The case opened in court in Sydney on Friday. Adidas is seeking to force White Fox to stop using the design and to pay damages. Court documents say Adidas alleges White Fox is taking advantage of its reputation, drawing an association in customers' minds between the two brands, or at least sailing close to the wind.
White Fox is an Australian label that has grown quickly online and become part of the Gen Z uniform in Australian cities, known for baggy hoodies, sweatpants and swimwear promoted by social media influencers. It is also expanding in the US and UK. Its social media shows it has been selling items with four stripes since the start of the year, which Adidas says is confusing customers. Adverts for the fast fashion online retailer have appeared on the backs of buses in Sydney, London and Los Angeles, and two of those adverts form part of the claim.
The dispute turns on whether shoppers would think the White Fox garments come from Adidas or are linked to it. There is also a separate trademark question: whether four stripes are confusingly close to the three stripes Adidas owns. Lawyers for White Fox said in Friday's hearing that they would argue the stripes design is decorative, not a trademark.
Adidas has fought similar battles before. Three years ago it lost a court case in New York that sought to stop luxury fashion designer Thom Browne from using a four-stripe design. Browne successfully argued that shoppers were unlikely to confuse the two brands. The White Fox case is expected to return to court before a judge later this year.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 2 channels | ||
| Adidas alleges that White Fox repeatedly refused to remove the disputed garments and adverts. | ||
| Adidas has brought a lawsuit against White Fox concerning four-stripe clothing and adverts that Adidas alleges are deceptively similar to its logo. | Reported by BBC One | |
| Adidas lost a New York court case three years ago against Thom Browne over a four-stripe design, with Thom Browne successfully arguing that shoppers were unlikely to confuse the brands. | Reported by BBC News | |
| The case is expected to return to court before a judge later this year. | Reported by BBC News | |
| White Fox's lawyers intend to argue that the stripes design is decorative and not a trademark. | Reported by BBC One | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC NEWS led with the legal claim itself and framed it around Adidas's global brand protection, White Fox's fast rise and its refusal to comment. Its report added context about the Thom Browne precedent and the commercial reach of White Fox adverts in Sydney, London and Los Angeles. The tone was factual and explanatory, with no new interview material beyond the court documents and social media evidence.
- “Adidas is suing an Australian fashion brand for selling and advertising clothes featuring a four-stripe design, which it says is deceptively similar to its own logo.”
- “White Fox has not responded to requests for comment.”
- “Three years ago it lost a court case in New York to try and stop luxury fashion designer Thom Browne from using a four-stripe design.”
BBC ONE West carried the same core report but included a fuller legal analysis of the confusion test and the separate trademark question. It gave slightly more weight to the courtroom arguments and the precedent, while also moving quickly to unrelated Premier League news after the package. The tone was neutral and explanatory.
- “The sportswear giant Adidas is suing an Australian fashion brand for selling and advertising clothes featuring a four-stripe design.”
- “Adidas argues it is deceptively similar to its own three-stripe logo and that White Fox has repeatedly refused to withdraw the garments or the adverts.”
- “It's really going to come down to whether people look at the White Fox garments and think it's either from Adidas or associated with Adidas, and whether, on a trademark level as well, which is a separate question, whether the four stripes are too close, confusingly close, to the three stripes that Adidas owns.”
Broadcast Timeline
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