美国国家公共电台 NPR--Thom Browne's win against Adidas is also one for independent designers, he says

Thom Browne's win against Adidas is also one for independent designers, he says

Transcript¹

A strange scene unfolded in a Manhattan courtroom in early January. Jury members examined pieces of luxury clothing by American designer Thom Browne worth more than $1,000 a pop that had been wheeled out on a rack for their consideration.

At the center of attention were four stripes featured on the left sleeves of jackets and tops and on the left legs of fancy sweatpants. Were these marks an infringement² of the three stripes featured on the products of sportswear giant Adidas? That was the question.

Adidas had previously³ fought similar battles against brands including Marc Jacobs, Skechers and Tesla. The outcome of the case with Thom Browne, which is a subsidiary of the fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna, could expand smaller companies' power to enforce trademarks⁵.

On Jan. 12, Browne scored a major victory, one in which he saw himself as the independent David battling a German multinational⁶ Goliath. The eight-person jury found that Thom Browne was not guilty of infringing⁷ upon the three stripes Adidas uses in its logo. He can keep using four bars in his designs.

Browne said the trademark⁴ battle was not for him alone.

"It was so clear to me to fight for myself, but also to fight for other independent designers and younger designers when they create something unique — that they have the protection of knowing that there won't be some big company that will come and try to take it away from them," he told NPR's A Martínez.

Adidas had reached out to Browne in 2006 when his company was still a fledgling one. At the time, he was using three horizontal bars rather than the four that have now become synonymous with his brand. Adidas asked him to stop; he agreed the next year to add a fourth stripe.

It wasn't the end of the story. Adidas came calling back 15 years later, after Thom Browne had expanded into activewear and began dressing⁸ the Cleveland Cavaliers and FC Barcelona in suits prior to their games.

"There was a reason for me to make my point and to not give up something that became so important, emotionally even, to my collection," Browne said. "There wasn't any confusion between my bars and their three vertical⁹ stripes."

Adidas filed its lawsuit¹⁰ in 2021 focusing on the use of four stripes, as well as Thom Browne's red, white and blue-stripe grosgrain ribbon loop inspired by locker¹¹ tabs at the backs of tops and shoes, a nod to his childhood in a family of seven kids who all played sports.

Adidas, which had sought $8 million in damages, said in a statement that it was "disappointed with the verdict." The company vowed¹² to "continue to vigilantly¹³ enforce our intellectual property, including filing any appropriate appeals."

Browne described the experience of the trial as "most interesting and stressful" for him. "I never want to live through it again, but it was important to live through it because I knew we needed to fight and make our case for what was right," he added.

To make his point, Browne showed up to court wearing one of his signature shorts suits, with a shrunken jacket and tie, knit cardigan, leather brogues and sport socks stopping just below the knee.

"It's not something I do just for a living," he explained. "People outside the courtroom needed to see me representing myself exactly the way that I am in the most real way. ... And so walking into the courtroom, I was just being myself."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

5 trademarks   

n.（注册）商标( trademark的名词复数 )；（人的行为或衣着的）特征，标记

参考例句：

• Motrin and Nuprin are trademarks of brands of ibuprofen tablets. Nuprin和Motrin均是布洛芬的商标。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many goods in China have the trademarks of a panda. 中国的许多商品都带有熊猫的商标。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

7 infringing   

v.违反（规章等）( infringe的现在分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）

参考例句：

• The material can be copied without infringing copyright. 这份材料可以复制，不会侵犯版权。
• The media is accused of infringing on people's privacy. 人们指责媒体侵犯了大家的隐私。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

9 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

10 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

11 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

12 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

13 vigilantly   

adv.警觉地，警惕地

参考例句：

• He was looking ahead vigilantly. 他警惕地注视着前方。 来自互联网
• Why didn't they search more vigilantly? 那他们为什么不再仔细地搜一搜呢？ 来自互联网