14 DAY TRIAL // It’s a clash of the (shoe) titans: with Christian Louboutin taking legal action against Yves Saint Laurent on claims that it’s ripping off Louboutin designs by incorporating the red sole in shoes, YSL is now fighting back, saying this existed long before Louboutin thought about it.
The latest development in the red sole saga sees YSL lashing out in court at Louboutin, saying that, if there’s anyone abusing other people’s rights, that’s Louboutin, by having the red sole patented in the US in 2008.
As per court documents, YSL argues that the red sole has been in use for centuries, therefore Louboutin had no right to claim it as his by filing and getting a patent for it, which, in turn, now allows him to claim YSL violated his copyright.
“Red outsoles are a commonly used ornamental design feature in footwear, dating as far back as the red shoes worn by King Louis XIV in the 1600s and the ruby red shoes that carried Dorothy home in The Wizard of Oz,” YSL argues, as per the Daily Mail.
If there’s anyone who’s guilty of anything, that’s Louboutin for making “fraudulent” claims that the red sole was exclusively his, the papers state.
“As an industry leader who has devoted his entire professional life to women’s footwear, Mr. Louboutin either knew or should have known about some or all of the dozens of footwear models that rendered his sworn statement false,” says YSL.
Indeed, while most customers simply assume that, whenever they see a red sole, they’re looking at a pair of Louboutins, the designer states out loud to he was the first to put one on women’s shoes.
In other words, he should be the only one allowed to do so from now on, wherefrom the lawsuit against YSL, whose latest collection includes a series of items with red soles.
As we also informed you a short while ago, Louboutin is asking for at least $1 million in damages from YSL, on the basis that the latter’s shoes with red soles have left a dent in sales for original Louboutins.