Hummel vs.Hummels: Legal buzz about sneakers

Cathy Hummels, wife of German soccer player Mats Hummels, has designed sneakers featuring the brand name "Hummels" in clear lettering. She presented her shoe collection in June 2018 in Munich, Germany.

It did not take long for the Danish sports brand Hummel (based in Aarhus, Denmark) to file a request for a temporary junction at the District Court in Hamburg. The Danish company wants to prevent her from marketing her own line of footwear (including sneakers) under the brand name “Hummels” since it infringes on its Hummel brand name.

The District Court in Hamburg has granted the temporary injunction, stating that "The brand name used by Cathy Hummels consists of seven letters, of which six are identical to those of the Danish sports brand name."

Cathy Hummels wants to take legal action against the injunction. Her lawyer Christian-Oliver Moser went on record stating: "The District Court made its decision without hearing Mrs. Hummels." That’s why he considers the claims made by the sportswear company Hummel unfounded, also since the court cannot prohibit Cathy Hummels from using her own last name.

It was not the first time that Cathy Hummels got into legal trouble. She was at the receiving end of a civil litigation. The German Social Media Competition Association (VSW) obtained a preliminary injunction against Mrs. Hummels for violating the VSW’s rules regarding advertising. 

As an Instagram influencer, she endorsed products without making it clear to her 342,000 followers that she was advertising those products. The lawyers of Hummels are fighting the injunction, willing to take it all the way to the German Federal Court citing “freedom of expression”. If that would be the case, it would write influence marketing history.

Moral of the story: Conduct your due diligence before you launch your brand.

Image hummelsport.de

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What’s in a shoe? Adidas can protect the stripes on its shoes

The sportswear company Adidas has scored a victory in over its competitor in the European Court regarding its trademark stripes on the side of its sports shoes. The court rules that using the stripe would infringe on the IP of Adidas. The court upheld the rulings of the European Intellectual Property Office dismissed actions brought by Shoe Branding Europe (Cases T-85/16 and T-629/16).

Shoe Branding Europe is a Belgian company that turned to the EU IP Office to have the two stripes on its shoes protected. It claimed that the horizontal stripes in its design run from the sole towards the ankle and not (as in case of Adidas) towards the toe. The company also pointed out that its shoes featured two stripes and not three as Adidas shoes do.

However, since the similarity between the two brands was just too similar, the Court sided with Adidas and refused to register Shoe Branding Europe’s trademark registration. The similarly between the two designs was just too much and would confuse consumers. In addition, the Court considered that it would be likely that that Shoe Branding Europe unfairly exploited the reputation of the Adidas brand. It therefore ruled that there were no grounds to grant registration of the trademark requested by Shoe Branding Europe.

What do you think? How important are those stripes to you when you buy new sports shoes? Feel free to put in your two cents!