White Fox to argue four stripes are decorative, not a trademark

Adidas has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Australian online retailer White Fox Boutique in the Federal Court of Australia, alleging the Sydney-based fast-fashion company’s four-stripe clothing design is deceptively similar to the sportswear giant’s three-stripe trademark. The case had its first mention in court on Friday and has been set down for a hearing in early 2027.

The action targets White Fox’s use of four parallel stripes on items including track pants and shorts, which Adidas argues trade off its reputation. Adidas has held the three-stripe trademark in Australia for more than 50 years.

During the first mention of the dispute in court on Friday, Adidas’s barrister Patrick Flynn SC argued the Sydney-based company had been using the stripes as a trademark for months. He pointed to a picture of a White Fox-endorsed influencer wearing the company’s four-stripe shorts with genuine Adidas shoes as a promotion that would confuse consumers.

“There’s an intention to trade off our reputation,” Flynn said.

Adidas sued another Australian retailer over four-stripe shoes in 2013 and won. The case filed against White Fox in September was therefore “not uncharted territory,” Flynn said, calling the matter “a pretty simple matter.”

White Fox’s barrister Ed Heerey KC said the company would argue the four stripes emblazoned on its clothing are decorative rather than a trademark. He highlighted similar items bearing four stripes from other brands, including fast-fashion labels Princess Polly, Glassons, and Shein.

“Obviously Adidas has a reputation,” Heerey said. “Their own slogan is that it’s the brand with three stripes. Emphasis on the three.”

The boutique will interrogate whether the use of four stripes was deceptively similar to Adidas’s trademark and whether any consumers would actually be misled. Heerey noted the 2013 judgment in favor of Adidas found that side-stripe branding was common on shoes, but there was no such common practice for clothing.

Adidas is seeking orders that would prevent White Fox from making clothing with four stripes and require the retailer to hand over profits it earned on the disputed products. Justice Ian Jackman — brother of one of Australia’s most famous exports Hugh Jackman — set the dispute down for a hearing in early 2027.

The lawsuit is the first high-profile litigation of its kind against White Fox Boutique. The online retailer was launched in Sydney in 2013 by co-founders Georgia and Daniel Contos, who own the company with Daniel’s mother Melina Maceri. The company focused on social media and influencer marketing to build its brand before expanding to the US and UK. White Fox generated $542m in revenue in the year to June 2025.

Adidas, by contrast, generated a record $39.9bn in 2025 and has vigilantly defended its three-stripe trademark across the globe, with varying success. The sportswear giant recently lost trademark infringement cases against luxury brand Thom Browne in the US, UK, and Germany.

The upcoming federal court battle could prove to be a battleground for Adidas in a world of fast fashion and prolific imitation.