In its ongoing battle with Thom Browne over the designer brand’s use of stripes, Adidas believes it has uncovered a smoking gun.
In court papers filed with the U.S. The District Court for the Southern District of New York found on Thursday that Thom Browne improperly withheld several e-mail chains which admitted that there was a likelihood of confusion between Adidas’s three-stripes and the company’s ‘four bar’ design.
Adidas alleges that four emails were exchanged between Browne and Rodrigo Bazan discussing the potential confusion in the market if four bars were used on sport-related products.
“Thom Browne’s concealment of these highly relevant and highly damaging e-mails denied Adidas a fair trial,” the brief stated. “Adidas is therefore entitled to relief under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(2), which provides for relief when a party uncovers evidence that likely would have changed the outcome of trial.”