The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) last week issued Off-White a registration for its “For Walking” word mark, which appears on a slew of the streetwear label’s footwear products.
The Virgil Abloh-founded fashion label first filed for trademark protection of this mark in October of 2020, three years after the phrase began appearing on the brand’s shoes, according to a filing with the USPTO.
The news follows an extensive journey for Off-White to win the registration. According to The Fashion Law, the USPTO took issue with the proposed mark’s use of the phrase to describe a feature that seems to describe the function of the product and does not indicate something that pertains to the Off-White brand specifically. Counsel for Off-White reportedly argued that the brand’s use of its signature quotation marks with the phrase indicated that this phrase is distinct to Off-White.
The filing makes it clear that the newly registered trademark does not offer Off-White the exclusive right for this wording in other contexts.
The “For Walking” mark has appeared on Off-White products as early as 2017. At Off-White’s Paris Fashion Week fall 2017 presentation, the brand showcased wide-leg, over-the-knee boots printed with “For Walking” in bold letters vertically on the outer seam. The same slogan was featured on some pumps. In 2021, Off-White introduced the phrase on its “Out of Office” sneaker collection.
Abloh, the prolific Black designer who founded and built Off-White into a formidable brand, died in November of 2021 at age 41. Abloh also designed multiple hits for Nike and Jordan Brand and served as the men’s artistic director at Louis Vuitton.
In 2017, Abloh was honored with the coveted Shoe of the Year award at the 31st annual 2017 FN Achievement Awards for the Air Jordan 1 from his instantly iconic “The Ten” collection.
