The Battle of the Athleisure Brands: Athleta vs Sports Group Denmark

Athleta vs Sports Group Denmark trade mark battle is heading to the Court of Appeal this November.

At first instance, Deputy High Court Judge David Stone held that the Claimant, Athleta, (part of Gap Inc.), succeeded in its claim of registered trade mark infringement for one of its figurative marks against one of the Defendant’s (SGD) figurative ATHLECIA marks. However, the ATHLECIA word mark was held to be non-infringing. The Claimant’s allegations of passing off were also dismissed and various of the Claimant’s registered trade marks were partially revoked for non-use. The Defendants’ invalidity application was also dismissed.

Athleta was granted permission to appeal on six grounds. The first ground seeks to explore and potentially expand the law relating to “targeting” in the context of genuine use in relation to a revocation application. The other grounds of appeal are arguably more conventional and relate to whether the first instance judge erred in relation to his approach in relation to assessing trade mark infringement and/or passing off.

Sports Group Denmark will be represented in the Court of Appeal by Mark Vanhegan KC and Jamie Muir Wood, who are in turn instructed by Waterfront Law.

One to watch as the new term unfolds.