Adidas Sues Three Chinese Companies

German sportswear giant Adidas has launched a lawsuit against three Chinese companies for intellectual property rights violations and is seeking compensation, state media said Tuesday. Adidas accused the Fujian-based Aile Clothing and Shoe Company of using a design very similar to that of the three-stripe Adidas trademarked logo. It found the logo on Aile products as well as its promotional materials in a Beijing market in December 2002, said Huang Hui, an attorney for Adidas quoted by the China Daily. The two other companies -- Beijing Jianlijia Aile Sports Goods Shop and the Beijing Ruiguan Sports Goods Company -- were accused of selling Aile products bearing the offending logos, a Beijing court heard Monday. Adidas is seeking three million yuan ($370,000) in compensation, the report said, although the Beijing Jianlijia shop argued in its defense that the German manufacturer did not have enough evidence. No ruling has yet been made. Piracy is rampant in China with widespread copying of brand-name clothing, pharmaceuticals and many other items. According to experts, China produces some 70 percent of the world's counterfeit goods.