In recent months, Christian Louboutin has filed a series of lawsuits in an attempt to protect what the company views as its hallmark: the bright red sole. Most notably, the shoe maker requested an injunction against Yves Saint Laurent that would prohibit the label from selling a pair of platforms with a red sole, insisting that the red sole was so much a part of Louboutin's brand identity that it was essentially a trademark.
A judge, however, disagreed, and even went so far as to question the very basis of establishing a trademark around a color. Since then, Louboutin has appealed the ruling, and now it seems the brand has won itself a powerful ally in Tiffany & Co., who recently filed a brief in favor of Louboutin's appeal. More specifically, Tiffany's brief centers on the concept of trademarking a color.
Naturally, Tiffany & Co has its own reasons to protect the idea of a trademarked color: The brand's signature robin's-egg blue is everywhere -- from the gift wrapping to the soft jewelry pouches. Should Louboutin lose its ability to protect its signature color, Tiffany's would certainly be at risk to copycats.
