Louboutin appeals over red soles fight with YSL

NEW YORK, Oct 20, 2011 (AFP) - Luxury French shoes manufacturer Christian Louboutin has filed an appeal against a New York court's ruling that competitors can also use the brand's characteristic red soles, a lawyer for the firm said Thursday.

Christian Louboutin. Photo : AFP.

Attorney Harley Lewin said there are a "number of reasons" why the August ruling in favor of Yves Saint Laurent, which argued it also had the right to sell scarlet outsoles on its shoes, was wrong.

"The court did not follow the prior decisions of our Supreme Court in conducting the analysis that it did," he said in an email.

"The court did not have before it sufficient evidence (almost none in fact) to support its finding that a single color cannot serve as a trademark in the fashion industry."

US District Judge Victor Marrero had ruled that Louboutin -- even if widely recognized for its trailblazing use of red under the shoe -- could not stop competitors like YSL from doing the same thing.

The million-dollar suit for "trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin" was filed in April in New York claiming that a series of YSL shoes would mislead consumers familiar with Louboutin's scarlet soles.