Louboutin secures red sole trademark win in India

French designer Christian Louboutin has secured damages for the infringement of its red sole trademark in India.

The Delhi High Court handed down its decision on December 12, awarding Louboutin damages of Rs1,00,05,000 ($156,078) and a permanent injunction against two India-based shoe sellers.

Louboutin’s trademark covers red soles on high-heeled shoes.

The trademark is registered in India under number 1922048 and, according to the court, it is “internationally recognisable” and has extensive usage in India.

“The goodwill and renowned reputation of the ‘red sole’ trademark has spilled over into India from various countries around the world and consumers were well aware of this goodwill and reputation even before the plaintiff’s trademark was first formally launched in India,” added the court.

Summons in the dispute were issued to the defendants, which are based in New Delhi, back in June 2016. The defendants had sold women’s high-heeled shoes featuring a red sole.

Paragraph 14 of the court’s judgment outlines several claims in support of the reputation of the ‘red sole’ trademark, including extensive use since 1992, extensive promotion of Louboutin products, and various awards and accolades for them.

The trademark is at the centre of a pending case in Europe, where the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) heard arguments in November over whether Louboutin should be able to trademark red soles on high-heeled shoes.

And WIPR readers believe that an attorney general at the CJEU made the right decision when he recommended that Louboutin should be able to register the red soles as an EU trademark.

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