NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - 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.

Steve Madden said Adidas' lawyers have demanded that Viento

sales be halted because the design would likely confuse

consumers, and signaled to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

it may formally challenge the Janos design.

"The use of band designs on footwear is ubiquitous in the

fashion industry," Steve Madden said. "Simply put, Adidas does

not own all stripes and should not be allowed to claim that it

has a monopoly on all footwear that includes stripes, bars,

bands or any shape having four sides-parallel, straight or not."

Adidas did not immediately respond to requests for comment

outside business hours.

Like some shoe companies including Nike ( NKE ), Adidas

sometimes turns to U.S. courts and agencies to stop rivals from

selling products it considers knockoffs.

Steve Madden, based in Long Island City, New York, said

Adidas sued it twice in 2002 to challenge footwear with two

parallel stripes and four parallel stripes, leading to a

confidential settlement the next year.

The latest dispute does not arise from that accord.

Wednesday's lawsuit seeks a judgment that the Viento and

Janos designs do not infringe Adidas' trademarks or three-stripe

design, allowing Steve Madden to continue sales.

The case is Steven Madden Ltd ( SHOO ) v Adidas AG et al, U.S.

District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 25-02847.