Did Marc Jacobs Rip Off Adidas' 3-Stripe Design?

Marc Jacobs turns 52 today, but he isn't having the best birthday. That's because Adidas hit Marc Jacobs with a trademark infringement lawsuit claiming that the brand "ripped off" their 3-stripe design, according to Law360. Yikes.

The lawsuit focuses on a particular set of sweaters by the luxury brand that features a strangely similar three-stripe Adidas design. Are we having déjà vu? Although the Marc Jacobs sweaters feature four lines, the lawsuit states that it can easily be mistaken for the Adidas design, according to Complex.

And this isn't the first lawsuit that Marc Jacobs has faced. Remember when a former intern sued the company in 2014 for not paying their interns? And in 2011, when according to the New York Post, the president of Marc Jacobs International Robert Duffy was accused of having "created a discriminatory environment at the company?"

According to Complex, the lawsuit stated that

“Marc Jacobs’ use of confusingly similar imitations of Adidas’ Three-Stripe Mark is likely to deceive, confuse, and mislead purchasers and prospective purchasers into believing that the apparel sold by Marc Jacobs is manufactured by, authorized by, or in some manner associated with adidas, which it is not. The likelihood of confusion, mistake, and deception engendered by Marc Jacobs’s infringement and dilution of Adidas’ mark is causing irreparable harm to the goodwill symbolized by the Three-Stripe Mark and the reputation for quality that it embodies.”

The lawsuit also argues that Adidas has worked for years and spent millions to build up the three-stripe mark and has made it synonymous to the brand. Adidas is looking for monetary or statutory damages, as well as an "injunction to halt the production and selling of the sweaters," according to Complex.

We hope you have a better birthday next year, Marc!

Images: @complexstyle/Twitter