YSL Belt Louboutin’s

Description

by Christian Louboutin. Louboutin is a French shoe designer who is very well known for his collections of women’s high heel shoes with bright red outsoles. Most women are familiar with the red soled shoes, and associate the color with the designer. The YSL Belt red soles have become a status symbol, a sign of luxury and wealth. In 2008, Louboutin obtained a US Patent and Trademark for his signature red sole shoes, which are priced from $535 to $4,645 a pair.

Yves Saint Laurent, another well known fashion powerhouse, produced red soled shoes in their Yves Saint Laurent Shoes 2011 collection. Louboutin saw this as a dilution of his trademark and filed a claim of trademark infringement under the Lanham Act (the Lanham Act has previously been applied as the basis for the proper use of a color as a trademark in the fashion industry, these cases are limited to marks that have “distinctive patters or combinations of shades,” as in the Burberry grid-like check pattern), as well as related state and federal law claims against YSL. . In the 2011 decision, Louboutin’s motion for preliminary injunction was denied. The Judge did not see the red soles as a protectable mark, since color cannot serve as a trademark if it is functional. The Judge’s opinion was that Louboutin’s trademark has an aesthetic purpose which obstructs fair competition.

Other brands that are known for their signature colors stand to lose as well. YSL Handbags Tiffany & Co. is known for their robin’s egg blue used in connection with fine jewelry. In support of Louboutin Tiffany’s filed an amicus brief, reinforcing his position on color and trademarks.