Louboutin launches new ‘red sole’ case
Christian Louboutin has initiated another lawsuit related to its trademarked red soles, this time against American footwear retailers Alba Footwear and Easy Pickins along with other unnamed companies and individuals.
In its complaint filed at the US Court for the Southern District of New York, the French shoe designer requests injunctive relief and damages for trademark infringement, trademark counterfeiting, trademark dilution, unfair competition and false designation of origin.
Alba Footwear and Easy Pickins each sell ranges of high heeled shoes with red soles.
Christian Louboutin has used a lacquered red sole on all of its high heeled shoes since the brand was created in 1992. In 2008 it received a trademark to protect it.
Charles Colman, founder of Charles Colman Law PLLC, said that the defendants may have an argument for aesthetic functionality.
“If a company is selling only high heels with red soles, it looks a bit suspect, or like they’re trying to free ride on Louboutin’s reputation, and the public’s desire for Louboutin shoes,” he said.
However Alba Footwear sells shoes featuring sole in a variety of colours, and red just happens to be among those soles, he added.
“Unless these other designs are decoys, intended to lend legitimacy to Alba’s red-soled shoes, the defendant has a strong ‘aesthetic functionality’ argument, a slight variation on the approach that YSL took in its defense against Louboutin in 2011-2012.”
In Louboutin’s case with fellow fashion house YSL, a district judge ruled Louboutin could not enjoy exclusive rights to a single colour on the soles of high heels shoes as other designers need to use the full range of colours to compete in the marketplace.
Colman said that if he were to file a motion or response behalf of Alba, he would feature pictures of the company’s range of shoes, showing the different coloured soles, on the first page to demonstrate they are not “counterfeiters in the traditional sense.”
However: “Alba Footwear does not enjoy the reputation that YSL does, so I think it may be more of an uphill battle for them to persuade a judge that Louboutin cannot enforce its trademarks here because of aesthetic functionality,” he said.
