Christian Louboutin's wins battle to protect trademark red soles

Christian Louboutin is a French fashion designer whose high-end stiletto footwear incorporates shiny, red-lacquered soles that have become his signature. The French designer went to court in The Netherlands to prevent the Dutch high street chain Van Haren from selling its own versions of high-heeled shoes with red soles, a favorite on celebrity red carpets.

Louboutin and Van Haren;  Image credit- Duetsblog

On Tuesday, the judges at the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) did not follow the advice of the advocate general who said in February that the red color could not be considered apart from the shape of the sole. "The mark does not relate to a specific shape of sole for high-heeled shoes since the description of that mark explicitly states that the contour of the shoe does not form part of the mark and is intended purely to show the positioning of the red color covered by the registration," the ECJ said in a statement.

Louboutin, founded in 1991, claimed victory and "warmly" welcomed the ruling."The protection of Christian Louboutin's red sole trademark is strengthened by the European Court of Justice," Louboutin said in a statement. "The red color applied on the sole of a woman's high heel shoe is a position mark, as Maison Christian Louboutin has maintained for many years."

The ECJ said that a trademark, such as Louboutin's, could not be regarded as consisting "exclusively" of a shape, where the main element is a specific color designated by an internationally recognized identification code.

News Source- BOF