(LUXEMBOURG) - Adidas successfully defended its famous three stripes logo on Thursday as the European Court of Justicet ruled that two-stripe imitations could infringe the German sportswear maker's famous trademark.

The case had been taken to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg after rival retailers C&A, H&M and others asserted the right to use two-stripe markings, arguing that you can't ban the use of stripes for decoration.

However the Luxembourg court ruled that the question is whether there is a likelihood of confusion between the two brands and "that likelihood must be based on the public's perception of the goods".

It therefore pushed the case back down to the Netherlands court which first considered the case to determine "whether the average customer may be mistaken as to the origin of sports and leisure garments featuring stripe motifs."

Adidas, the world's second-largest sporting-goods maker, has been trying to stop retailers from selling sports clothing with similar stripes.

Judgment of the European Court of Justice in Case C-102/07
Adidas et Adidas Benelux (pdf)

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