I saw this on Twitter earlier and read further in the Globe and Mail and NY Mag.  U.S District Court Judge Victor Marrero has refused a request from Christian Louboutin to stop YSL from selling red soled shoes, citing that they had the exclusive trademark.  However, the judge has said that Louboutin’s claim of the colour red “would impermissibly hinder competition among other participants” – that other companies may be worried about using red in their palletes fearing that they too would be sued.  Christian Louboutin is, of course, is not pleased.  In fact, they said that the European courts ruled quite the opposite, stating that the red soles were unique.  They will very likely appeal.

Christian Louboutin shoe at BATA Shoe Museum. 

I too thought that the red soles were different – one could tell Louboutins from far away.  However, I can also understand where the judge is coming from.  Sort of.  There are Louboutin bags as well.  If they make the inside lining red, would that mean that Louis Vuitton can’t?  Or will it only apply to shoes?  Anyway, whether other companies will also start making red soled shoes is up to the individual companies.  The Louboutin will definitely lose its appeal to consumers willing to splurge if one can start buying red soled shoes at Payless.

Image: By Sheila Thomson from London, England (Flickr) [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons