Jamie wrote:Adidas have a trademark on three stripes on clothing if I recall correctly.
Interesting; thanks for that information.
I'm pretty sure that their trademark would only apply to clothing, as you said.
Found some online sources:
http://www.brandchannel.com/features_pr ... ?pr_id=281
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_stripes
http://www.mondaq.com/x/228508/Trademar ... TRIPE+Mark
The wiki article has references at bottom, from various dates and court rulings.
Some of the links are broken now, but cached versions are at Wayback:
http://web.archive.org/web/200907050900 ... -youre-out
I can see how they should have a trademark over their Adidas logo itself, with their brand name and three unequal stripes at an angle. But having a trademark on three stripes anywhere on any clothing?? That seems excessively protective. Even worse, the European courts ruled against competitors who had TWO stripes on their clothing, just because it would remind people of Adidas. That's crazy; people have been putting stripes on clothing for centuries, long before Adidas came along.
But anyway: if three stripes can be trademarked as a clothing logo, then I imagine the symbol could also be trademarked as a musical or band logo. (Not saying that's a good or bad idea; just thinking that if it's possible for clothing, then it's probably possible for other kinds of products or companies.) I assume it's like the name game; in that you can trademark a name for one thing or use - "Mario's Pizza" - but then somebody else can come along and trademark the same name for a different product: "Mario's electronics."
The world of business and law seems far too complex and entangled; but then it can be important to protect intellectual property, so maybe it's a necessary evil. But if another band were to trademark the 'III' as their logo - even when Jack White & TMR have been using it that way for long before anyone else - then that would not seem fair at all. But who knows if that's even likely; most rock bands tend to change up their visual designs pretty frequently, so it might already be getting replaced by their next new thing.
OK, this is interesting. There was (is?) a record company called "Three Stripe Records":
http://www.discogs.com/label/Three%20Stripe%20Records
Three Stripe Records / Profile:
Smith and Mighty owned label from Bristol, became an ffrr subsidary in the early 1990's.
That page includes a discography of Three Stripe releases.
