Christian Louboutin Fights Carmen Steffens Red Soles

Carmen Steffens style (top) and Christian Louboutin heel, as shown on the Carmen Steffens blog. Photo By Courtesy

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN has accused another footwear brand — Carmen Steffens of Brazil — of selling shoes that infringed on his trademarked red soles reported WWD (12 April, 2011).

The São Paulo-based brand issued a press release Monday responding to Christian Louboutin’s allegations, made in January, saying 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 catalogs dating from 1996 can prove, Carmen Steffens shoes contain soles of all colours, including red.”

Louboutin was awarded a registered trademark for its red soles in 2008 by the U.S Patent and Trademark Office, but the complaint is directed only at Carmen Steffens France and no other markets.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Spaniol, Carmen Steffens’ international development director, said in the statement, “We are ready to provide unassailable evidence that we have been using coloured soles, especially red, before Mr. Christian Louboutin popularised his.”

Photo: CamernSteffens.com

Carmen Steffens, which is sold in more than 160 namesake shops and 450 doors across South America, plans to open 25 stores in France by 2015.

Online research by Footwear News showed that even French magazine Tout Ma compared its shoes to Louboutin’s.

“The very bling-bling shoes, set with crystal or embroidered, are reminiscent of the spirit of Louboutin, especially as they display a red sole. But they are much more affordable (between 200 and 350 euros),” said the magazine article, which Carmen Steffens was touting on its blog, along with images of shoes.

Carmen Steffens’ president of U.S. operations, Mark Willingham, told FN that “Carmen Steffens France is confident in its position regarding the brand’s long-standing use of colour on the soles of some styles of Carmen Steffens shoes, including the infrequent use of various tones of red.” He pointed out that “of the 250 styles in Carmen Steffens France’s current collection, only three styles utilise red tones on their soles.”

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» Jessica Simpson copyright Infringement with Christian Louboutin
» Christian Louboutin red sole battle with Yves Saint Laurent comes to a close 


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Jessica Simpson copyright Infringement with Christian Louboutin

L-Christian Louboutin Staratata sandal R-Jessica Simpson Evangel sandal 

JESSICA SIMPSON Evangel sandals have been accused of copying Christian Louboutin Staratata high-heeled sandal design.

Jessica Simpson in an ad for her self-named clothing & accessories line 

Ooh La La Blog, In 2009, eagle-eyed fashionistas noticed eerie similarities between one of Simpson’s shoe designs and one by high-priced shoemaker Sergio Rossi, and was the first to point out that the Evangel heels and Louboutin's Staratata style appear to be strikingly similar, with both boasting pink suede straps with yellow leather piping, purple suede rectangular buckles, a purple suede platform and heel, and a black suede insole. (On the bright side, only one of them has that tell-tale red sole.) Simpson was spotted wearing the pair of high-heeled pink strappy sandals in an ad for her self-named clothing and accessories line.

Bloggers immediately noticed how similar they looked to Louboutin’s Staratata sandals, which sold out in 2010. Louboutin’s Staratatas sandal sold for £636 ($995) and came with the designer’s signature red sole ,though new colour combinations have been released. By contrast, Simpson's version Evangel sandal sells for £62 ($98) and had a tan sole. Even worn by the Fashion Star mentor in a footwear ad for her line. Elle, which ran the ad in its April issue fronted by the star, is now under fire for turning a blind eye to the design similarities.

Jessica Simpson's 'Evangel' sandal, £62 - JessicaSimpson.com

Simpson is unlikely to face any legal consequences for her lookalike design. As certain, clothing and accessories are not yet eligible for copyright protection. (05/04/2012)

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RELATED ARTICLES

» Christian Louboutin Fights Dior Over Red-Soled Shoes
» Christian Louboutin Fights Carmen Steffens Red Soles 
» Victory for Versace in counterfeit & fake fashion ruling
» Christian Louboutin Loses Another Red Sole Lawsuit To Zara 
» Target’s Mossimo Messenger knockoff Proenza Schouler PS1 bag
» Christian Louboutin red sole battle with Yves Saint Laurent comes to a close


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Christian Louboutin Loses Another Red Sole Lawsuit To Zara

Christian Louboutin

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN has lost a lawsuit against Zara, been ordered to pay £2,300 ($3,600) to the high street retailer. First Christian Louboutin accused Yves Saint Laurent of mimicking the scarlet signature of his famous shoes, then Jessica Simpson was under attack for copying his famous designs before a lawsuit was filed against Zara for the very same thing. Now WWD reports that a French judge ruled in favour of the high street chain, giving it the green light to sell their red-soled shoes.

L-Christian Louboutin's YoYo Zeppa slingback R-Zara's open toe similar slingback

The case began in June 2008 when Louboutin sued Zara for selling an open-toed shoe £40 which closely resembled their £400 YoYo Zeppa creation. Louboutin won the suit, but  Zara hit back with an appeal in 2011, citing there was no way that a customer would confuse the two.back by filing an appeal on the grounds that Louboutin's trademark registration was too vague and there was no proven risk of confusion between the two pairs of heels. The court agreed and ruled in favour of Zara, France’s final court of appeal the Cour de Cassation sentenced Louboutin to pay approximately £2,320 as compensation in it's ruling.

Louboutin general manager, Alexis Mourot, told WWD the footwear company would continue to defend its sartorial signature and is not backing down. “Another red sole trademark application has been successfully registered and we will enforce this trademark against any infringers.”

Zara's similar open toe slingbacks

As the shoe maestro said himself while in conversation with Grazia's Paula Reed, he has made shoes with scarlet soles since 1992 after seeing an assistant painting her nails red. An official trademark for the red sole was awarded in 2008 with the brand arguing that customers should not be put in the potentially befuddling position of not knowing whether a shoe is a genuine Louboutin or not.

During the YSL case, however, Judge Victor Marrero argued that no one designer should place a colour off limits for other brands. Comparing the rival shoemakers to artists Picasso and Monet, he said, 'every painter and designer in producing artful works enjoys equal freedom to pick and choose colour from every streak of the rainbow.'

additional content: WWD & Grazia

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Related Articles:
» Christian Louboutin Fights Dior Over Red-Soled Shoes
» Christian Louboutin Fights Carmen Steffens Red Soles
» Victory for Versace in counterfeit & fake fashion ruling
» Target’s Mossimo Messenger knockoff Proenza Schouler PS1 bag
» Jessica Simpson copyright Infringement with Christian Louboutin
» Christian Louboutin red sole battle with Yves Saint Laurent comes to a close


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