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Jeff Kobulnick Quoted in Law360

BG Law partner Jeffrey Kobulnick was quoted in Law360 regarding the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ landmark decision in the case of Louboutin v. Yves Saint Laurent SAS (“YSL”), decided September 5, 2012.  In that case, the Court ruled that a single color may indeed be protectable and enforceable as a trademark for apparel, and that a monochrome colored shoe design did not constitute trademark infringement.  Louboutin owns a federal trademark registration for the color red as placed on the outsole of shoes, which it has used since 1992, and sued YSL over its design of a monochrome red shoe.  Reversing the lower district court’s finding that Louboutin did not have trademark rights in the color red, the Court found that a color could function as a mark, consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Qualitex v. Jacobson in 1995.  The Court did however modify Louboutin’s registration such that the scope of its trademark rights are for use of the color red in contrast with another color on the rest of the shoe.

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