Christian Louboutin has a red-hot hit on its hands--er, on its soles. Specifically, its red-soled shoes are high style, high priced and very popular with celebrities and socialites. In the US alone, Louboutin sells
240,000 pairs of red-soled shoes every year.
Now Louboutin has gone to court to protect its trademark red soles against YSL, which is also marketing high-fashion shoes featuring red soles.
The legal battle is far from over. Last week, the judge refused to stop YSL from selling its red-soled shoes. As reported in
The Independent, the judge was particularly concerned about the ability to trademark a colour:
'[The judge] went on to argue that any restriction of colour was potentially detrimental both creatively and commercially. It would be like Pablo Picasso trying to sue Claude Monet for using an indigo too close to the "colour of melancholy" that defined the former's Blue Period, [the judge] suggested."
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Can Louboutin protect its red-soled shoes under today's intellectual property laws? Marketers are watching this case with intense interest, because colour is an important element in branding and packaging, not just product differentiation.
