I heard from many of my students yesterday, who had all noticed that French shoe maker Louboutin won the appeal of their trademark case. In case you aren’t shoe-obsessed like me, Louboutin shoes are well known for their red lacquered sole.
When Yves Saint Lauren made and sold a shoe that had a similar sole, a fashion legal battle began. The trial court originally held against Louboutin, reasoning that no company can trademark a color, because that red is simply a design tool available to all shoe designers. In other words, no company can monopolize a color. This seemed contrary to many rulings where companies have been allowed to trademark a color: Tiffany’s blue, Green Monster Green, to name a few. This week the Court of Appeals overruled the trial court, ruling that Louboutin has the right to protect the red soles, as long as they contrast with the rest of the shoe. The Court refused to ban the sale of Yves Saint Lauren’s all red shoe, however. Here is a quote from the judge: “We hold that the lacquered red outsole, as applied to a shoe with an ‘upper’ of a different color, has ‘come to identify and distinguish’ the Louboutin brand and is therefore a distinctive symbol that qualifies for trademark protection,” U.S. Circuit Judge José A. Cabranes wrote in a 31-page opinion.
I have to agree with Judge Cabranes. Anyone who knows anything about shoes immediately recognizes the red sole. That is everything to a brand, and if we protect anything in fashion design, it has to be something iconic like the red sole.
It all just makes me want to buy a pair.
9 Comments
Yang Lu posted on September 9, 2012 at 1:39 pm
haha I know one of my female friends are just crazy about these red sole shoes, and she is always talking about how beautiful and stylish they are. It looks pretty cool to me even though I dont know much about women’s shoes. I think some people buy Louboutin shoes just because of the red sloe？ I dont know, but this case is quiet interesting because of the way court judge changes his mind from against it to protect it. One thing I dont understand is if court judge ruling that Louboutin has right to protect its characteristics of the product， then why didnt he just ban all the other products that has same style as Louboutin?
Tsz Hung Chiu posted on September 23, 2012 at 8:09 pm
I’m actually really glad that Louboutin won the appeal for their trademark! To me, when I think of Louboutin I immediately associate it with it’s red sole and the prestige that comes with it. Even though I recognize Louboutin for its red sole, if I saw a pair of monochromatic red heels, Louboutin probably would not be the first thing that comes into mind. I think I have to agree with the three-judge panel that, the only thing that makes the red sole of Louboutin shoes pop out is the contrast between the sole and the shoe.
Lindsay Ying posted on September 23, 2012 at 9:06 pm
YSL is definitely stealing Louboutin’s identity by making the red sloe!! the red sloe of Louboutin is what people are purchasing this brand for besides its amazing design. those high heels are not as comfortable as other top brands however people buy them to show their taste and social identity.YSL should pay Louboutin for invading their “identity”. I am also wondering why didnt the judge stop the sale?
Kanishk Pahuja posted on September 24, 2012 at 1:01 am
I agree with the 3 judge panel that the contrast between the red sole and the rest of the shoe is what distinguishes Louboutin from other brands. While YSL didnt technically do anything wrong in making the red shoes with the red sole, I think this case was important for Louboutin to publicize the fact that the red sole is the signature for their brand.
Zach Barnard posted on October 1, 2012 at 6:14 pm
It’s pretty interesting to me to see how a lawsuit can be good press for a company. Ideally if they’re in the right, and especially if they win the case, the outcomes of settlement or compensation can perhaps be of less value than the attention their case brought to them. Reminds me of the recent issue with Spirit Airlines… though in that case it was bad press, in my opinion.
alegria-shoes posted on August 15, 2013 at 6:12 am
Sometimes these red soles can distinguish.But it is quite interesting to see shoes with red sole, but it makes distinction from the normal ones and it is more attractive. I think that is quite good part of marketing like alegria shoes do, so why not to do it if it brings you the profit
Y. Daniels posted on January 14, 2014 at 11:31 am
It’s interesting to see how these battles often have similar suits in different countries. The French Supreme Court dismissed Louboutin’s claims that they have a trademark.
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=8d73af86-c24c-4753-89a9-ca3eb079edc4
John Jones posted on February 17, 2014 at 9:40 am
Hi , thank u for sharing this post i think that is very helpful 🙂
Ellie posted on August 19, 2014 at 12:07 pm
Wow, very interesting that they were able to win this appeal, but good for them! They have created an image that plays off of this style and colour, and it works well for these women’s shoes.