Federal Court Denies Designer's Trademark Infringement Claim for Rival's Red Sole Shoes

A Federal Court judge denied Christian Louboutin’s motion for a preliminary injunction against rival Yves Saint Laurent from selling shoes with red soles. The Court’s decision is available at http://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/cases/show.php?db=special&id=122.

In so ruling, the Court stated that Louboutin’s trademark could be invalidated because color cannot be a source identifier for fashion products. “Because in the fashion industry color serves ornamental and aesthetic functions vital to robust competition, the Court finds that Louboutin is unlikely to be able to prove that its red outsole brand is entitled to trademark protection, even if it has gained enough public recognition in the market to have acquired secondary meaning.”

In the fashion industry, trademark protection has been extended to the use of color, “but only in distinct patterns or combinations of shades that manifest a conscious effort to design a uniquely identifiable mark embedded in the goods” such as Louis Vuiton’s logo and Burberry’s plaid.

This decision will certainly be followed by many in the fashion industry.