Shoemaker to Stars, Christian Louboutin, Sues Yves Saint Laurent Over Trademark "Chinese Red" Outsoles

Christian Louboutin, whose shoes are worn by the rich and famous, including Patti LaBelle, Madonna & Rihanna, tells Yves Saint Laurent to lay off it's "Chinese red" outsoles in trademark infringement lawsuit.

Christian Louboutin has made a name for himself among the fabulously rich with his red soled high heeled shoes, so much so that he's willing to go to bat to protect his "trademark." According to the Economist, Louboutin sued Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), alleging that several of its rival's shoes infringed on Louboutin's trademark on women's shoes with the red outsole, which was granted to the company in 2008 by America’s Patent and Trademark Office. Louboutin identifies the shade it uses as “Chinese red,” but argues that any confusingly similar shade would infringe the trademark, while YSL's shoes are red all over, the Economist said.

Yet all this could be at risk, says Louboutin’s lawyer, if Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), another fashion firm, continues to gain the upper hand in a legal dispute between the two companies. On August 10th a district court in New York refused to grant a preliminary injunction stopping YSL from selling shoes with a red sole that Louboutin says infringe its trademark. The judge did not believe that a designer could trademark a color. He asked both parties to appear again in court on August 19th to decide how to proceed with the case.

“We don’t like it,” says Harley Lewin of McCarter & English, an American law firm which is representing Louboutin. The judge has overreached, according to Mr Lewin, by making this a case about the justification of Louboutin’s trademark rather than a ruling on a request for a temporary injunction prohibiting the sale of red-soled YSL shoes. He intends to appeal against the decision.

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Moreover, it maintains that Christian Louboutin was the first to use red outsoles. Not true, says its opponent, who claims that King Louis XIV had red-heeled dancing shoes in the 18th century and Dorothy danced in ruby slippers in “The Wizard of the Oz”. Source

It will be interesting to see how this case is resolved. Now we have to worry about lawsuits over colors clogging up the civil court system. I guess that's the least of most people on Main Street's worries, but it just goes to show you how times are changing. Just saying....