Judge rejects Louboutin’s trademark red claims
A US federal judge has refused to grant a preliminary injunction stopping footwear designer Yves Saint Laurent from selling shoes with a red sole. Footwearbiz.com reported in July that Christian Louboutin had filed a law suit asking the courts to stop Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) from launching its own collection of red-heeled shoes. But Southern District Judge Victor Marrero has ruled that Louboutin is unlikely to prevail in its claims against YSL, and, further, that if YSL moved for summary judgement that Louboutin’s trademark is invalid, he would grant it.
Louboutin alleged that several of its rival’s shoes infringed Louboutin’s 2008 trademark on women’s shoes with a red outsole. Louboutin describes its particular shade as “Chinese red,” but argued that any confusingly similar shade would infringe the trademark. YSL’s allegedly infringing shoes are monochrome, entirely red, including their outsoles.
In denying the motion, Judge Marrero said that a colour, being an essential element of fashion design, could not be trademarked, even though the red outsole was strongly associated with Louboutin shoes in the public mind.
“Because in the fashion industry colour serves ornamental and aesthetic functions vital to robust competition, the court finds that Louboutin is unlikely to be able to prove that its red outsole brand is entitled to trademark protection, even if it has gained enough public recognition in the market to have acquired secondary meaning,” he said.
