The Delhi High Court declared a permanent injunction on Adidas, a similarly named company that trades in various goods, especially textiles. The trademark infringement case of adidas vs. Adidas was won by the German sports and apparel company adidas, in which the court ordered Adidas to pay a sum of Rs 14.22 lakh to adidas to settle the nominal damages of Rs 3 lakh and incur the cost of 13 long years of infringement suit, which was Rs 11.22 lakh.
The court has also restrained three firms of Adidas, which are: Adidas Weaving Mills, Adidas Textile Industries, and Adidas Merchandise, and also restrained its directors from selling, manufacturing, trading, and dealing its goods using the sign or name of adidas AG.
The defendant Adidas has contended that the adoption of its trademark was “bona fide and honest” and “rooted in personal affection.” Keshav Tulsiani, the director and partner of all three firms, as mentioned earlier, said in court that they named their brand Adidas because he has deep admiration for his elder sister.
In the Sindhi community, the elder sister is referred to as "Adi,” and his admiration for his sister is like that of a devotee, which in Sindhi is referred to as "Das." So, combining Adi and Das, they named their company Adidas, meaning devotee of the elder sister.
The defendants also claimed that they have been using this trademark since 1987, and they use it in uppercase, whereas the plaintiff, adidas, uses it in lowercase. The defendants also argued that there was a delay by the plaintiffs and that adidas should not be entertained based on jurisdictional restrictions, as adidas neither runs the business in Delhi nor resides here.
Adidas was not able to produce any proof in court. Thus, the court ruled in favor of adidas AG, saying there was a real likelihood of confusion because the defendant has the same mark and goods as adidas AG. “Adidas” is a unique word that has no inherent linguistic meaning and will be given high protection under trademark law.
