Steve Madden Ltd. sued Adidas AG in New York federal court on Wednesday, asking a judge to declare that its footwear designs do not infringe Adidas’ three-stripe trademark. The fashion brand said it was “tired” of being repeatedly targeted by Adidas for using stripe-based designs that it says bear no resemblance to the athletic giant’s iconic branding.
In the complaint, Steve Madden accused Adidas of attempting to monopolize common design features by asserting claims over any use of stripes, bars, or similarly shaped patterns—even when those designs are not parallel or resemble the Adidas mark.
“Adidas does not own all stripes,” Steve Madden stated. “It should not be allowed to monopolize all footwear that includes stripes, bars, bands, or any shape having four sides — parallel, straight or not.”
Steve Madden is asking the court to declare that it has not infringed any Adidas trademarks or trade dress, nor violated unfair competition laws, through two of its shoe designs: the Viento, which features two divergent bands, and the Janos, which displays bands resembling the letter K.
The Long Island City-based footwear brand said the lawsuit follows decades of legal threats and aggressive enforcement tactics by Adidas. It recounted that in 2002, Adidas sued Steve Madden over shoes featuring two and four parallel stripes, a case that was consolidated and settled in 2003.
More recently, Adidas sought an extension from the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) in April to oppose Steve Madden’s K-shaped design trademark, and then reached out to Madden’s attorneys asserting that the Viento’s band pattern was likely to confuse consumers.
Steve Madden argues that band designs are commonplace in the footwear industry, and consumers do not automatically associate them with Adidas. The brand said Adidas has pursued a “systemic pattern” of enforcement, filing lawsuits and “aggressive cease-and-desist letters” based on what it called overly broad interpretations of its three-stripe trademark.
“These tactics are meant to intimidate competitors and establish monopoly power over any stripe use, regardless of design, orientation or context,” Steve Madden alleged.
Adidas has not commented publicly on the suit.
Steve Madden is represented by Robert T. Maldonado, Tonia A. Sayour, John L. Strand, and Laney E. Flanagan of Wolf Greenfield & Sacks PC. Counsel for Adidas was not available as of Wednesday evening.
Case: Steven Madden Ltd. v. Adidas AG et al., case number 1:25-cv-02847, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
