Adidas claims sole ownership of Yeezy rebutting Kanye West partnership

Adidas calls itself the 'sole owner' of Yeezy designs after growing pressure on the shoe brand to cut ties with Ye over his anti-Semitic comments.

According to CNN, "Adidas is the sole owner of all design rights to existing products and previous and new colorways under the partnership."

The "sole owner" sentence in Adidas' statement is a legal "warning shot" to Ye, according to Nicole Haff, litigation and entertainment partner at Romano Law. Nicole said, "He's been saying a lot of things to the press, like that his designs have been stolen from him and that money is owed to him," 

Nicole further added, "What I think is happening is that Adidas has been laying out their [legal] position" 

The German company set to sell Yeezy designs under the logo of Adidas next year.

"Speaking to the company, it believes it can limit the loss of revenues through this strategy and will also save on expenses related to royalty and marketing fees no longer payable in 2023."

Previously, Adidas condemned antisemitism and racism and said it would immediately end its relationship with Ye. The company said it would cease production of Yeezy-branded products and halt all payments to Ye and his businesses.

The agreement with Yeezy by Adidas was inked to end in 2026. Moreover, Adidas' move to sever ties to Ye may hit the brand earning $247 million this year. In the midst, Adidas shares fell 3.2% at the closing of German trading.

"We would expect to see further revenue, margin, and earnings consensus downgrades following this latest installment of bad news at Adidas," RBC's Dadhania said. "We are doubtful whether Adidas will be able to fully compensate for the loss of Yeezy profits in 2023, which is likely to weigh on sentiment further in our view."