Threatened With NBA Boycott, Olympic Sponsor Adidas Shelves 'Slave Sneaker'

(Reuters) - Adidas AG has sued to stop a U.S. sporting goods retailer and a skateboarding equipment maker from selling sneakers with three parallel diagonal stripes, a design it said looks too much like its own. The world's second-largest sporting goods company claimed that sneakers made by World Industries Inc and sold by Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp are knock-offs that infringe many Adidas trademarks. Adidas first used the three-stripe motif in 1952 and began trademarking it in the United States in 1994. World Industries could not immediately be reached for comment. ...

Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, and Sergio Garcia all wore the same shirt in the first round of the Masters yesterday. It wasn't a coincidence, it was a calculated move by Adidas. And it came from Nike.

Allstate insurance company has decided not to renew it's sponsor deal with the U.S. Olympic Committee. Sources familiar with company’s plans said the insurer, an official USOC sponsor since 2002, made the decision before the London Olympics, reports Sports Business Journal. Allstate's USOC deal, last inked in 2008, was valued in the $10-12M [...]

(Reuters) - Adidas AG has sued to stop a U.S.

Adidas AG has sued to stop a U.S. sporting goods retailer and a skateboarding equipment maker from selling sneakers with three parallel diagonal stripes, a design it said looks too much like its own. The ...

(Reuters) - Adidas AG has sued to stop a U.S.

Just four months out, and it looks like the Olympic sneaker war is emerging as the race to watch at the 2012 London Olympics. As I reported the other week, Asics is making a run for the European market, challenging Nike and . Now it looks like could fall to the back of the line ...