Professors side with YSL on red sole mark
05 January 2012
Eileen McDermott, New York
Eleven law professors have denounced the way Louboutin and INTA have applied the doctrine of aesthetic functionality in Louboutin’s battle with Yves Saint Laurent over red-soled shoes
Louboutin sued Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) for infringing US trade mark number 3,361,597 in April this year, but a judge denied its motion for a preliminary injunction in August. While Louboutin uses the red outsole in contrast on black shoes (above right), all of the challenged YSL shoes use the red outsole as part of a monochromatic (or single colour) design (middle photo and below right). But Louboutin claims that any use of a red lacquered outsole infringes its mark.
YSL has countered in part that Louboutin’s mark is aesthetically functional, meaning that it is an integral design element demanded by consumers that should not be...
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