CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN v. YVES SAINT LAURENT AMERICA

Docket No. 11-3303-cv.

696 F.3d 206 (2012)

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN S.A., Christian Louboutin, L.L.C., Christian Louboutin, Plaintiffs-Counter-Defendants-Appellants, v. YVES SAINT LAURENT AMERICA HOLDING, INC., Yves Saint Laurent S.A.S., Yves Saint Laurent America, Inc., Defendants-Counter-Claimants-Appellees, Yves Saint Laurent, (an unincorporated association), John Does, A to Z, (Unidentified), Jane Does, A to Z, (Unidentified), XYZ Companies, 1 to 10, (Unidentified), Defendants-Appellees.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Decided: September 5, 2012.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Harley I. Lewin ( Lee Carl Bromberg and Charles D. Ray , on the brief), McCarter & English, LLP, New York, NY, Boston, MA, Hartford, CT, for Plaintiffs-Counter-Defendants-Appellants Christian Louboutin S.A., Christian Louboutin, L.L.C., Christian Louboutin.

David H. Bernstein ( Jyotin Hamid and Rayna S. Feldman , on the brief), Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, New York, NY, for Defendants-Counter-Claimants-Appellees Yves Saint Laurent America Holding, Inc., Yves Saint Laurent S.A.S., and Yves Saint Laurent America, Inc., and Defendants-Appellees Yves Saint Laurent, (an unincorporated association), John Does, A to Z, (Unidentified), Jane Does, A to Z, (Unidentified), XYZ Companies, (Unidentified).

Janet L. Cullum ( John W. Crittenden , Cooley LLP, San Francisco, CA, and Susan J. Hightower , Pirkey Barber LLP, Austin, TX, on the brief), Cooley LLP, New York, NY, for amicus curiae International Trademark Association, in support of Plaintiffs-Counter-Defendants-Appellants.

Richard Z. Lehv ( Jason D. Jones on the brief), Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, P.C., New York, NY, for amici curiae Tiffany (NJ) LLC and Tiffany & Co., in support of Plaintiffs-Counter-Defendants-Appellants.

Rebecca Tushnet , Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C., on the brief, for amici curiae Professors of Law in Trademark and Related Fields, in support of Defendants-Counter-Claimants-Appellees.

Before: CABRANES, STRAUB, and LIVINGSTON, Circuit Judges.


JOSÉ A. CABRANES, Circuit Judge:

The question presented is whether a single color may serve as a legally protected trademark in the fashion industry and, in particular, as the mark for a particular style of high fashion women's footwear. Christian Louboutin, a designer of high-fashion women's footwear and accessories, has since 1992 painted the "outsoles" of his women's high-heeled shoes with a high-gloss red lacquer. In 2008, he registered the red lacquered...

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