Having handed out approximately 1,000 pairs of its limited edition Art Basel EQT ADV 91-16 on the streets of Miami at last year’s edition, Adidas is now facing the repercussions of its “generosity” and is being slapped for trademark infringement.
In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, festival organisers allege that the Adidas special edition sneaker “diminished and continues to diminish the value of important licensing partnerships” of Art Basel, which is operated by MCH Corporation of Switzerland.
According to the suit, the Art Basel name has been used internationally by MCH since 1999, boasting over 250 galleries across North American, Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe. In the filing, the Art Basel name is described as one of MCH’s “most valuable and important corporate assets.”
The famous art organisation claims that it permits its show partners to use the ART BASEL mark on an exclusive basis for valuable consideration – such as UBS financial services, NetJets, BMW, Audemar Piguet watches, and Davidoff cigars. Not on that list? Adidas.
According to The Fashion Law, now, MCH is demanding that Adidas cease use of the Art Basel name and destroy any remaining pairs, as well as foot the bill for three times the amount all of damages caused by the infringement, which allegedly includes lost sales and business opportunities.
If true, it’s surprising that Adidas didn’t secure the appropriate paperwork from Art Basel, especially considering the company hasn’t been shy about suing its own competitors — recently landing both ASICS and Sketchers with lawsuits.
Images via Adidas, TheFashionLaw
