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news
Assos takes legal action against AsosCycling clothing brand Assos takes legal action against UK fashion giant Asos
Cycling clothing brand Assos is once again taking legal action against fast-fashion giant Asos.
City AM reports that while it is "not yet clear" why Assos is suing the British fashion brand, the Swiss-based premium cycling clothing company filed a breach of contract claim last Friday to the High Court, a claim which names Asos Plc, Asos. com and Asos France as the defendants.
It is the latest chapter in the long-running legal dispute, Assos having in 2011 won its fight to prevent the clothing brand selling products under the Asos name in Switzerland. During those proceedings, Assos said the similarity in names could confuse consumers, a case the cycling clothing company made successfully to convince regulators at the European Union's Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM).
> Assos wins fight to stop UK company ASOS using its brand name in Switzerland
However, Asos has also successfully defended its case in the UK and there were outstanding cases in the US, France and Germany midway through the last decade when a settlement was agreed.
In 2016, it was reported that Asos paid Assos and German menswear retailer Anson's Herrenhaus a £20.2m settlement to "secure a comprehensive co-existence for all parties".
"We are pleased to have put this litigation behind us," said Nick Beighton, Asos's chief executive had commented at the time.
"Entering into this settlement at this juncture is the right commercial decision for our business," he added.
Fast-fashion giant Asos was founded in 2000 under the name As Seen on Screen, but changed its branding to the Asos acronym two years later. The 2016 settlement reportedly allowed the fashion brand to start selling athletic leisurewear, although it was restricted from selling cyclewear and opening shops in Germany, according to the Guardian.
Assos was owned by the Maier family for almost 40 years, having been founded in 1976 by Tony Maier-Moussa. In 2015, it was sold to private equity firm TZP Group.
road.cc has contacted Assos and Asos for comment.
Dan is the road.cc news editor and joined in 2020 having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Dan has been at road.cc for four years and mainly writes news and tech articles as well as the occasional feature. He has hopefully kept you entertained on the live blog too.
Never fast enough to take things on the bike too seriously, when he's not working you'll find him exploring the south of England by two wheels at a leisurely weekend pace, or enjoying his favourite Scottish roads when visiting family. Sometimes he'll even load up the bags and ride up the whole way, he's a bit strange like that.
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4 comments
Blatent money-grabbing from a pompous brand that's failing. This is what happens when capital investment attempts to make profit by any means necessary.
What a bunch of ases
Maybe Asos has launched a range of cycling clothing? Possible/potential confusion in the market there might set Assos off again?
More likely the telling phrase is " In 2015, it was sold to private equity firm TZP Group" Hedge fund bell-ends with more lawyers than sense selling overpriced bib shorts with little pockets for dangly bits. Then again, Asos are a fast fashion brand so in terms of sympathy, meh...