Shoe designer Christian Louboutin has taken legal action against a second brand for infringing his trademarked red soles, WWD reports.How Louboutin's red soles became a must have, a trademark and a law suit
After filing a lawsuit against Yves Saint Laurent in New York last week, the target of Louboutin's latest legal action is Carmen Steffens of Brazil .
Christian Louboutin sues YSL
The São Paulo-based brand issued a statement yesterday responding to the allegations, stating that it has "since its inception created a logo in red, called 'rosette,'" and finds it "surprising that another brand is trying to reserve the rights to any colour."
The statement added, "The tones are not the same, and, as catalogues dating from 1996 can prove, Carmen Steffens shoes contain soles of all colors, including red."
Christian Louboutin , who came up with the idea of giving all his designs a distinctive red, gloss sole in 1992 after painting red nail polish onto the bottom of a pair of shoes, because he felt they "lacked energy", was awarded a registered trademark in 2008 by the U.S Patent and Trademark Office. This complaint is against Carmen Steffens France and no other markets.
Gabriel Spaniol, international development director for Carmen Steffens' - which is sold at 450 locations across South America, including 160 standalone stores - also stated "We are ready to provide unassailable evidence that we have been using coloured soles, especially red, before Mr. Christian Louboutin popularised his."
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