What comes to your mind when you see orange, green and red stripes?
Chances are, many would think 7-Eleven.
On July 1, the convenience store chain filed a lawsuit against Nike, claiming that the latter’s upcoming sneaker drop is a “confusingly similar imitation” of its signature tri-colour branding, Reuters reported.
The sneakers in question?
A pair of new Nike Air Max 95 featuring a cream-based colourway adorned with wave-like side panels in shades of orange, green and red — stacked in the same sequence as 7-Eleven’s trademarked stripes, also known as the Tri-Colour Mark.
The shoes were also slated to release on July 11 — widely known as the convenience store chain’s “7-Eleven Day”.
A search by AsiaOne on limited edition merchandise marketplace Novelship showed that the sneakers are already available for pre-orders, with prices starting from $740.
In the complaint, 7-Eleven said that consumers could be misled into believing that the sneakers are associated with its brand.
“Nike has shown a callous and malicious disregard for 7-Eleven’s rights. Nike has thus acted in bad faith, with malicious intent, and in knowing disregard of 7-Eleven’s rights,” the convenience store chain said in the lawsuit.
7-Eleven also said that it had repeatedly contacted Nike in an attempt to resolve the dispute prior to filing the lawsuit, but the sportswear brand indicated that it would continue its marketing and release of the new sneakers.
Dispute over floral motif
Separately, Louis Vuitton (LV) recently emerged victorious in a trademark dispute against Molly Tea filed last May.
The Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court in China has ordered the Chinese tea chain to pay the luxury fashion brand 10.3 million yuan (S$2 million) in damages for the use of a logo resembling LV’s trademarked four-petal floral motif, reported South China Morning Post.
According to the court, the compensation in the trademark infringement lawsuit included 10 million yuan for economic losses and 300,000 yuan for reasonable litigation expenses.
While LV registered the monogram pattern in the country, many netizens pointed out that similar patterns were used in ancient China.
Molly Tea’s trademark applications in 2024 were rejected and placed under review, said the China National Intellectual Property Administration.
Following the verdict, the tea chain said it intends to file an appeal.
A check by AsiaOne on Molly Tea Singapore’s social media platforms and website showed that the logo is still in use.
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carol.ong@asiaone.com
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