Adidas has taken the Greek Australian fashion label White Fox to the Federal Court of Australia, claiming its four-stripe clothing is deceptively similar to Adidas’s three-stripe trademark.
The German sportswear company says it has asked White Fox since March to stop selling and promoting the items, and that the requests were refused. Adidas argues the designs are substantially identical with, or deceptively similar to, its own, and that White Fox is trying to trade on Adidas’s reputation in Australia, where the three-stripe mark has been registered since 1957.
White Fox’s lawyers told Justice Ian Jackman that the company denies any trademark breach. A formal defence has not yet been filed, but they indicated White Fox will argue that other well-known Australian brands, including Cotton On, Sportscraft and Glassons, also sell clothing with similar decorative stripes.
Adidas also claims some White Fox advertisements and product images show models wearing genuine Adidas items alongside the four-stripe garments. That, it says, could lead shoppers to believe the brands are linked or that Adidas has approved the designs. The company describes White Fox as “sailing close to the wind.”
Evidence includes side-by-side comparisons of sweatpants, lounge shorts and socks, and images of White Fox billboards and bus-stop ads. In one online listing from June 2025, a model wearing White Fox socks was shown in pink Adidas shoes. Adidas alleges the branding was later digitally altered to remove the stripes.
Adidas is seeking damages, including profits from the disputed products, plus interest and costs. A three- to four-day trial is expected early next year.
White Fox was founded in 2013 by Greek Australians Georgia and Daniel Contos and is still privately owned by the couple and Daniel’s mother, Melina Maceri. It reported A$542 million in revenue in the year to June 2025, up from $121 million in 2022, and has expanded into the UK and US, targeting teenagers and young adults through billboards, bus ads and influencers.
Adidas won a similar Australian case in 2013 against Pacific Brands over four-stripe shoes.