Red shoe soles are protectable as a trade mark. This was declared by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg (C-163/16). Background: the manufacturer Christian Louboutin had registered them as a trade mark in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in 2010 in the shade Pantone 18663TP and now sued the Dutch Deichmann subsidiary Van Haren, which also marketed shoes with red soles. Van Haren argued in court that colour was part of the non-protectable shape, but did not prevail. A Dutch court will now decide whether Van Haren has to take the red shoes off the market and is liable for damages.
A quick internet search reveals that it is not only in Europe that Nivea, Langenscheidt, Milka, Telekom and others „protect their respective colours from imitation“, but that important colour brands also come from the United States: Tiffany (light turquoise), 3M-PostIt (yellow), UPS (brown) and JohnDeere (green/yellow) are also well-known examples here. The respective colours may not be used by competitors for similar products.
See also the blog articles
Will Nivea blue soon no longer be protected?
Savings bank loses lawsuit over its red
Comment: The commercialisation of our feelings is progressing, colour is nothing other than a feeling within us. When will pain, anger, sadness and other feelings become protectable, when will we have to pay a licence fee to Hollywood for love? As the saying goes, thoughts are free - we should remember that.
Images: Christian Louboutin: Wikipedia/Christian Louboutin Documentary, Tiffany: Wikimedia Commons/Adriana Górak, Shoes: arte France, UPS: Wikimedia Commons/Magnus Manske, PostIt: Wikimedia Commons/Disk Depot
