Denied to Louboutin the exclusive rights for red sole shoes

On 10 August the French shoe designer Christian Louboutin, whose models are appreciated by many famous people, has lost his case for unfair competition and trademark infringement brought against Yves Saint Laurent before the Federal Court in New York. In particular, Louboutin challenged to Yves Saint Laurent to have copied the historic red sole shoes which marks the shoes conceived by him and for such reason requested a compensation of one million dollars and the immediate suspension of the production and sale by Yves Saint Laurent of products in issue. The Federal Court in New York, however, rejected the claims formulated by Louboutin arguing that the red paint sole, even if distinctive, is not a protected trademark. It follows that the famous French shoe designer is not entitled to claim the exclusive use of the red color for the soles of shoes.


08/17/2011 | Trade Mark