In April it was announced that Christian Louboutin had filed a Trademark Infringement Lawsuit against Yves Saint Laurent after YSL put red soles on their shoes, allegedly breaching copyright.
Louboutin himself told the Evening Standard in mid - April "I have the biggest respect for the house of Yves Saint Laurent, having discussed the matter with them and not been able to reach an agreement, we have had to take this to court. My company has a trademark on the red sole and if we don't enforce it this would leave the door open for other brands to copy us while jeopardising the identity of the Louboutin red sole. No one before me has ever used a coloured sole to define a brand's identity. The red sole has become widely recognised as the distinct sign of my brand in the eyes of women all over the world."
The company were seeking damages of $1 million after YSL began production of their own red soled shoes stating that the YSL sole was 'virtually identical to that of the Louboutin one.
YSL hit back at this statement in court by saying "Red outsoles are a commonly used ornamental design feature in footwear, dating as far back as the red shoes worn by King Louis XIV in the 1600s, as an industry leader who has devoted his entire professional life to women's footwear, Mr Louboutin either knew or should have known about some or all of the dozens of footwear models that rendered his sworn statement false." To which the members of the courtroom laughed.
The Judge who has considering this case has today come to a decision stating that Louboutin was not 'able to prove that the red outsole brand is entitled to trade protection'.
Whats the betting that New Look and River Island start selling red soled shoes and forever ruining the Louboutin brand??
