German sportswear giant Adidas has launched legal action against Sydney-based online retailer White Fox in Australia’s Federal Court, alleging trademark infringement over clothing featuring a four-stripe design.
Adidas claims the apparel, decorated with four parallel stripes of equal width, is “substantially identical with or otherwise deceptively similar” to its iconic three-stripe logo. The company said its logo has enjoyed a “substantial and valuable reputation” in Australia since it was trademarked in 1957, reports BBC.
During a hearing before Justice Ian Jackman on Friday, lawyers for White Fox denied any trademark breach. Although the fast-fashion retailer has yet to file a formal defence, its legal team told the court it intends to argue that other prominent Australian brands, including Cotton On, Sportscraft and Glassons, also sell clothing featuring “similar decorative stripes”.
Adidas’s lawyers countered that White Fox offered the disputed four-striped items with the explicit “intention to trade off our reputation”. A three-to-four-day trial is scheduled for early next year.
Adidas said it had repeatedly asked White Fox to stop selling and promoting the disputed clothing since March, but the retailer refused.
According to court filings, Adidas also alleged that White Fox advertisements for items such as sweatpants and lounge shorts featured people wearing “genuine” Adidas products.
Submitting evidence that included side-by-side product comparisons and billboard advertisements on buses and at bus stops, Adidas argued that White Fox was “drawing an association in the minds of consumers” or “sailing close to the wind” by leading Australians to believe that Adidas had approved of or was associated with the brand.
In one instance dating back to June 2025, an online listing showed White Fox-branded socks modelled by a person wearing pink Adidas footwear. Adidas alleged that, days after court proceedings began last month, the image was digitally altered to remove one stripe from the shoes. A week later, all three stripes had been removed from the photograph.
Adidas, which reported revenue of €24.8 billion (£21 billion; $28 billion) in 2025, is seeking damages and an order requiring White Fox to surrender all profits generated from the disputed products, along with interest and legal costs.
The case follows Adidas’s successful legal action in Australia in 2013 against Pacific Brands over the sale of four-striped shoes.
White Fox was founded in 2013 by Greek-Australian couple Georgia and Daniel Contos. The company is privately owned by the couple alongside Daniel’s mother, Melina Maceri.
Popular among teenagers and young adults in Australia, the UK and the US, the retailer relies heavily on billboards, bus advertisements and university-aged influencers to promote its products.
White Fox expanded into the UK in 2024 while continuing to grow its presence in the US. According to the Australian Financial Review, the retailer generated AU$542 million (£286 million; $377 million) in revenue in the 12 months to June 2025, a fourfold increase from $121 million in 2022.
