The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Adidas America v. Skechers USA (2018) reversed a district court’s preliminary injunction concerning Skechers’ use of a design similar to Adidas’ registered three-stripe trademark for sneakers. (The court did affirm a preliminary injunction on a second claim brought by Adidas, for infringement of a different Adidas design for which Adidas has trade dress rights.)

Interestingly, the Ninth Circuit accepted the district court’s finding that Adidas was likely to succeed in showing infringement (including a likelihood of confusion), but  reversed the district court’s finding of a likelihood of irreparable harm. This conclusion is simply remarkable given that, until 2006, federal courts generally presumed irreparable harm upon a showing of likelihood of success on a trademark infringement case.

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