Louboutin Sues Yves Saint Laurent Over Red Soles

As perhaps one of the most iconic and amusing fashion lawsuits of our time, Christian Louboutin is suing Yves Saint Laurent for putting red soles on his shoes, Reuters reports.

Louboutin claims he has asked YSL to cease and desist slapping some rouge onto the bottom of the brand's pumps since January. The suit reads: "Defendants' use of red footwear outsoles that are virtually identical to plaintiffs' Red Sole Mark is likely to cause and is causing confusion, mistake and deception among the relevant purchasing public." It's worth noting that Louboutin trademarked the red soles in the U.S. back in 2008.

Louboutin is seeking $1 million in damages, but the heels are priced in stores anywhere from $450 to $4,000. That's only like 250 pairs of Loub's most expensive models, and that's about how many Carrie Bradshaw had, so we feel even less inclined to take the entire thing seriously.

But, hey -- a little did-you-know courtesy of BusinessWeek:

The designer Louboutin got the idea for the red-sole shoes when he painted red nail polish on the black soles of a pair of women's shoes, the complaint states. He introduced the red soles in 1992 and since then they have been on all of the company's luxury shoes, according to the lawsuit.

Read the rest at Reuters.

Comments

[torgman3]

03:20 PM on 05/11/2011

I'm wearing saddle shoes with red heels. Does this mean Bass Shoes are in trouble?

[mike dougles]

03:33 PM on 04/12/2011

I dont konw about the lawsuit, but more women should be wearing high heels, just saying.

[Fromageball]

03:21 PM on 04/10/2011

How can you trademark a color? It's all subjective. What if YSL made the soles red, only changed it by a few shades? Could be interpreted as pink or purple by some, red by others, maroon, burgundy, etc.

Either way, I'm sure I would get mad too if someone tried to steal my trademark.

It is what it is...

[thaneb]

11:03 AM on 05/12/2011

In Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co.,1995, SCOTUS held unanimously that, "sometimes, a color will meet ordinary legal trademark requirements. And, when it does so, no special legal rule prevents color alone from serving as a trademark." In the examples to date, the TM-worthy color was a particular, recognizable hue/shade, something your comment hints at.

[Goliadkin]

02:01 AM on 04/10/2011

I had a girlfriend who loved CL shoes. She liked to wear them in bed, and I don't mean for sleeping. I found it very stimulating to see those red soles from various angles. We all have our little fetishes, I suppose.

[beadingchef]

12:59 AM on 04/10/2011

I have an old pair of Charles Jourdan's that have red soles, so how can they trademark this, just use a different red (which I am sure that they are doing and their can be no infringement). Another frivolous lawsuit.

[hibiscuscottage]

05:47 PM on 04/11/2011

My mother has a pair of black beaded evening heels from the eighties with red soles.

Someone is not telling the truth.

Speaking of Charles Jourdan - My ex-stepfather bought my mother a pair of green suede Charles Jourdan high heel boot from Saks (1977). I remember because I was a junior in high school and wanted those boots desperately.

The funny part of the story was watching my mom struggle to get her right foot into the boot and she kept saying, "There is something wrong". She was so frustrated and then she realized that she had two left boots.

When the store replaced the boots they fit her perfectly. Just thinking about those boots brings back happy thoughts.

[ZenCrusader]

08:31 PM on 04/09/2011

The idea of trademarking a color is absurd. Yet YSL, in direct competition, was conscious of what they were doing and that the color is trademarked for the soles. Much ado about nothing.

[janiepants]

04:31 PM on 04/09/2011

Respect the trademark.

[MyrtleJune]

05:42 AM on 04/09/2011

It is a valid case. Sorry that's his logo or trademark. It just is.

[Suntio]

12:35 PM on 04/09/2011

So now nobody can paint the soles of their shoes red?

[imonlyhereforthelaughs]

05:40 PM on 04/09/2011

No one can paint the soles of very expensive shoes that are also in direct competition.

[Harold Darling]

07:20 PM on 04/09/2011

The issue is trade dress, not trade mark...

[MyrtleJune]

03:10 AM on 04/11/2011

I thought it was trade mark because trade dress pertains to their place of business (decor and such) or their employees unique uniform. This is more like the nike swooosh, except the red sole is their logo/trademark. But I'm no legal eagle. What I do know if ysl is out of line trying to infringe on their "signature" whatever it is legalled called :-)

[MyrtleJune]

03:10 AM on 04/11/2011

legally not legalled.... typo

[Tomass De]

06:49 PM on 04/08/2011

THEY CAN'T ANYMORE DO THEI JOB SO THEY TRY TO MAKE A POINT WITH A SOLE SHOE..WHAT A IDIOT..

[Hardyman1966]

05:58 PM on 04/08/2011

There's a certain point where you need to get over your bad self.  Trademarking a color on something is about as egocentric as Zuckerbaby trying to trademark "face".

[NotOnlyShopping]

06:28 PM on 04/08/2011

I can't agree more!

[littlepuffycloud]

07:15 PM on 04/08/2011

..or ManWhoreSheen trying to trademark 'Duh Winning'.

[Cassandrawept]

04:26 PM on 04/08/2011

People have been coloring the soles of their shoes for generations. Ask to attendents to the Queen of England. Just because it's not commonly done doesn't make it a "new" or a trademark worthy. Else I could just claim a pumpkin as my trademark fruit.

[lexingtonKY]

03:24 PM on 04/08/2011

I hope he doesn't find out the here in Kentucky girls spray paint the soles of their 9 West shoes red.

[Tomass De]

06:50 PM on 04/08/2011

THEY WILL BE SUED TOO..

[HC4BO]

02:14 PM on 04/08/2011

For $4000, those shoes better NOT touch the ground when I walk in them ...

[prometheus]

04:21 PM on 04/08/2011

Who the hell buys these things? I mean, okay, these ones don't look too bad -- but I've seen horrid looking things for $499 -- like, really? These should be priced at $50, maybe $100 if they're amazingly comfortable and resilient or something.

[tcnsrq]

02:12 PM on 04/08/2011

the red sole is vulgar. It makes most of his shoes ugly

[bitsy63]

02:57 PM on 04/08/2011

His shoes are perfection and the red sole is genius.

[Daisytoo]

03:31 PM on 04/08/2011

And he has every right to sue to protect his design trademark. Hope he wins.

[thalius]

09:27 PM on 04/08/2011

and boy do i want a pair of those red sole shoes!!!!!

[homily]

06:45 PM on 04/09/2011

I think Martha Stewart agrees with you, since she has her shoe soles coloured in black marker.

[Max Shaw]

01:36 PM on 04/08/2011

"Most Important Lawsuit Of Our Time?"

Really...? How incredibly shallow.

[coco51]

04:55 PM on 04/08/2011

I know, I know, I know it's all drama, but what can we expect when the style page editor is from the National Enquirer?

[Lauren Kottwitz]

06:23 PM on 04/08/2011

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that headline was probably intended to be sarcastic.

[Tessa Hanger]

10:48 AM on 04/09/2011

I'm going to go ahead and agree with you on that one.