Steve Madden sues Adidas to thwart challenges to shoe designs

Adidas, known for shoes with three parallel stripes, was sued on Wednesday by Steven Madden over its alleged effort to stop the American shoe company from selling fashion sneakers with two non-parallel bands. In a complaint filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Steve Madden, as the company is often known, said it has grown "tired" of Adidas' decades of complaints about footwear whose designs bear no resemblance to its three-stripe design. These allegedly include objections to two Steve Madden sneakers launched this year: Viento, which has two bands, and Janos, whose two bands resemble the letter K.