Adidas wins injunction to keep using stripes
LONDON -- Adidas won a temporary court ruling Wednesday in a dispute with international tennis bodies over the size of its three-striped logo on players' clothing, allowing the logo to appear at Wimbledon.
The German sportswear manufacturer was granted a temporary injunction in London's High Court against a new rule limiting the size of the logo to 4 square inches.
Adidas sponsors Andre Agassi, Martina Hingis and Justine Henin-Hardenne, among others top players. The restrictions had been scheduled to go into effect at Wimbledon on June 26.
Chancellor Sir Andrew Morritt, presiding in the High Court, granted the injunction against Britain's Lawn Tennis Association; the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which runs Wimbledon; the International Tennis Federation and the U.S. Tennis Association.
Adidas said it had not been given enough time to adapt its manufacturing process in time for Wimbledon. A spokeswoman for adidas in Herzogenaurach, Germany, had no immediate comment.
Morritt ordered the case to go to trial in early October. Morritt rejected a bid by the tennis bodies to have adidas' case dismissed.
"We acknowledge the court's decision and appreciate its willingness to schedule an early trial on the merits to compensate for maintaining the status quo," the ITF Grand Slam Committee said.
Adidas is also suing organizers of the French Open and Australian Open, but there was no interim injunction against those bodies. The French Open is currently taking place, and the Australian Open is next January.
Adidas contended the three stripes running down shirt sleeves or shorts are not a standard logo. It said the official logo is the "performance logo" depicting three stripes arranged in a pyramid with Adidas written underneath.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press
