“Color doesn’t start as something unique, it becomes unique,” he said. Harley Lewin, the attorney for Louboutin, said his client is “very, very pleased” with the decision, adding that nontraditional trademarks such as colors have to be developed over time.

In a news release, YSL says that its shoe collections have included styles with red (and other colored) outsoles since the 1970s.īoth sides appeared to be satisfied with the appellate court decision. In the appellate decision, Circuit Judge Jose Cabranes upheld trademark protection of Louboutin’s red-lacquered outsole but said that YSL’s use of the red sole in its monochromatic shoe does not infringe on the trademark.Īccording to the decision, Christian Louboutin introduced his signature red sole in 1992 and registered the red-lacquered outsole as a trademark in 2008. In his decision last year, Judge Victor Marrero said that “Louboutin’s claim to the ‘the color red’ is, without some limitation, overly broad and inconsistent with the scene of trademark registration.” Louboutin appealed after a federal court judge denied an injunction in August of last year that would have kept YSL from selling shoes with red soles.

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