Marketplace Roundup

ESPN Suing Quiksilver Amid Trademark Violations Claims

ESPN earlier this month in New York Federal Court sued Quiksilver Inc. on claims that Quiksilver "violated a trademark" on ESPN's X Games franchise. The suit alleges that Quiksilver uses a "stylized 'X' emblem on clothing, labels and accessories that is 'confusingly similar' to ESPN's" X Games logo (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 5/8).

NEW SERVE: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Max Colchester reports Paris-based bank BNP Paribas this month will launch its first-ever worldwide TV spot, hoping that its "longtime sponsorship of tennis will serve its global ambitions." The company has sponsored the ATP Italian Open since its '06 takeover of Rome-based Banca Nazionale del Lavoro SpA, and spends about $38.5M annually on tennis advertising. The ad, created by Publicis Conseil, will be shown on int'l news channels and "features fans invading a professional tennis match, picking up rackets and playing the game themselves" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/8).

SHOE TREE: adidas Chair & CEO Herbert Hainer said that "efforts to 'reposition' the Reebok brand continue," and Hainer has "set a goal of increasing Reebok's sales outside the U.S. and the [U.K.], with a rapid expansion strategy in China and India already under way." In Massachusetts, Steve Adams reported Reebok began a new partnership in April with Vulcabras SA in Brazil to "distribute Reebok footwear, apparel and accessories in Brazil and Paraguay" (PATRIOT LEDGER, 5/7).