It was a tough ending to an already stressful 2017 for Under Armour, according to this ‘Baltimore Sun’ article. Under Armour had yet another lawsuit filed against them and according PACER, Under Armour has been sued 118 times, with at least 10 of them being in 2017!
Plaintiff, Kelsey Battle, filed for civil action (trademark infringement and unfair competition) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Battle is the owner of the ICAN trademark and has used the ICAN trademark on retail clothing for over 20 years. Since 2013, Under Armour has sponsored basketball star, Steph Curry. Battle claims that Under Armour used the ICAN mark in Curry’s product line – including variations such as “I Can. I Will.” and “I Can do all things.” It is claimed that Under Armour willfully damaged ICAN by swamping the market and causing confusion.
According to the complaint, registration for the mark was was issued in 2006 and renewed in 2015. The defendant discovered the infringement when he saw an Under Armour shirt at a Belk department store. However, Under Armour vehemently denies the claims and states that the use of the trademarks ‘I CAN DO ALL THINGS’ and ‘I CAN. I WILL.’ does not infringe any trademark rights.
Story via this ‘The Baltimore Sun’ article. You can view the comparative photos and case complaint here.
