Adidas sues White Fox over ‘deceptively similar’ four-stripe design
Adidas has taken legal action against Australian fashion brand White Fox over clothing featuring a four-stripe design, alleging that the branding is “deceptively similar” to its well-known three-stripe trademark.
The German sportswear company says it has repeatedly urged White Fox to stop selling and advertising the products since March, but the Sydney-based retailer has declined to do so.
White Fox, a popular online fashion retailer among teenagers and young adults in Australia, the UK and the US, has expanded its profile through billboard campaigns, bus advertisements and social media influencers, many of whom are university-aged.
Lawyers representing both companies in Australia have declined to comment ahead of the first court hearing, which is scheduled for Friday.
According to documents filed with the Federal Court, Adidas says its three-stripe trademark has built a “substantial and valuable reputation” in Australia, where it has been registered since 1957.
The company alleges that White Fox has, since at least March, marketed and sold clothing featuring four parallel stripes of equal width, which it claims breaches its trademark rights.
Adidas argues that the White Fox designs are either substantially identical to, or deceptively similar to, its own branding.
The sportswear giant has also raised concerns about White Fox advertisements for the four-striped products and branded socks, claiming that some promotional images feature models wearing genuine Adidas products.
According to the court documents, such advertising could give consumers the impression that Adidas has a commercial relationship with White Fox or has authorised the Australian company’s four-stripe designs.
Adidas further alleges that White Fox is benefiting from the reputation associated with its brand by creating an association between the two companies in consumers’ minds.
The German company, which recorded revenue of €24.8 billion (£21 billion; $28 billion) in 2025, is seeking damages from White Fox. It wants the retailer to hand over profits generated from the disputed products, in addition to interest and legal costs.
As part of its evidence, Adidas submitted side-by-side comparisons of its products and White Fox clothing, including sweatpants and lounge shorts. The evidence also included photographs of advertisements displayed on buses and at bus stops.
In one case cited by Adidas, an online listing from June 2025 showed White Fox-branded socks being modelled alongside pink Adidas shoes.
The company alleges that shortly after the court case was filed last month, the Adidas logo on the shoes was digitally edited to remove one stripe. It further claimed that all three stripes had been removed from the image about a week later.
Adidas has previously taken legal action over four-stripe designs in Australia. In 2013, it successfully sued Pacific Brands over footwear featuring four stripes.
White Fox was founded in 2013 by Georgia and Daniel Contos and remains privately owned by the Greek-Australian couple and Daniel’s mother, Melina Maceri.
The fashion company has since expanded significantly, particularly in the US, and entered the UK market in 2024.
According to the Australian Financial Review, White Fox recorded revenue of about A$542 million (£286 million; $377 million) in the 12 months to June 2025, representing a fourfold increase from the A$121 million recorded in 2022.
Source: BBC
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