Steve Madden is suing Adidas in an effort to stop the German athletic company from its alleged efforts to “monopolize common design features in the fashion industry.”

According to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., Steve Madden is seeking a non-infringement and no unfair competition declaratory judgment because the company is “tired of being targeted” by Adidas for footwear design elements that “bear no resemblance” to Adidas’ Three-Stripe mark.

“No consumer is likely to believe that the footwear including these designs is manufactured by, or otherwise associated with or approved by, Adidas,” Steve Madden wrote in the complaint.

In the lawsuit, Steve Madden noted that over the years, Adidas has allegedly “aggressively enforced” its trademark registrations against Steve Madden and others, who it believes infringes its purported Three-Stripe mark.

“Adidas’ assertive enforcement measures often include suing and threatening suit against manufacturers and retailers of footwear and apparel who use any number of stripes or bands in any manner that Adidas contends is likely to cause confusion with Adidas’ purported Three-Stripe,” the complaint said.

Steve Madden further noted that it has “fallen victim” to Adidas’ threats for decades on more than one occasion. “Since as early as 2002, Adidas has commenced a pattern of complaining that Steve Madden’s footwear allegedly infringes its Three-Stripe mark,” the complaint stated. “Specifically, in 2002 Adidas brought two lawsuits against Steve Madden alleging that footwear with four-parallel stripes and two-parallel stripes infringed its Three-Stripe mark. These lawsuits were consolidated and subsequently settled as set forth in a 2003 settlement agreement between the parties.”

After the 2003 settlement agreement, Steve Madden alleged that Adidas “continued to complain” about its footwear over the ensuing decades.

This includes new objections to two Steve Madden sneakers launched this year: the Viento, which has two non-parallel stripe bands, and the Janos, which has two stripe bands that resemble the letter “K.” Steve Madden said Adidas’ lawyers have demanded that Viento sales be halted because the design would likely confuse consumers.

“Simply put, Adidas does not own all stripes and should not be allowed to claim that it has a monopoly on all footwear that includes stripes, bars, bands or any shape having four sides—parallel, straight or not,” Steve Madden claimed.

FN has reached out to Steve Madden for comment. A representative for Adidas told FN that the company “does not comment on pending legal matters.”

This new challenge to Adidas’ enforcement of its Three-Stripe mark comes after the company’s lengthy court battle with Thom Browne on its own use of stripes. In November, Thom Browne won its latest round of the multinational legal dispute with Adidas over striped trademarks.

At the time, the High Court of England and Wales, located in London, dismissed Adidas’ claims of trademark infringement. In July, Adidas sought to remove Thom Browne’s range of products comprising its signature four-bar motif from the U.K. market, contending it would confuse consumers.

Judge Joanna Smith said, “The average, reasonably observant, consumer paying a moderate degree of attention will generally perceive the difference between three stripes and four.”

The London ruling came at a time when Adidas has suffered multiple setbacks in Europe and the U.S. in its legal actions against Browne.

Last May, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said it would not overturn the jury verdict reached in January 2023 that found Browne’s use of four stripes and its grosgrain ribbon did not infringe upon Adidas’ three-stripe trademark.