Amazon may breach trademark rights over fake Louboutin ads
The European Court of Justice says online retail giant Amazon may be in breach of luxury shoemaker Christian Louboutin’s trademark rights over the sale of counterfeit red-soled high-heeled shoes on its platform
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Online retail giant Amazon could be held responsible for breaching luxury shoemaker Christian Louboutin's trademark rights over the sale of counterfeit red soled high-heeled shoes on its platform, the European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday.
Third-party sellers on Amazon regularly advertise red-soled stilettos that are not made by Louboutin. The French designer brought cases against the company in Belgium and Luxembourg, arguing that he did not give his consent for these products to be put on the market.
Louboutin shoes’ red outer sole, for which they are known, is registered as an EU and Benelux trademark.
The EU’s top court said that users could mistakenly think that Amazon itself is selling shoes on behalf of Louboutin.
The EU court said it’s now up to the local jurisdictions in Belgium and Luxembourg to determine whether users on the online marketplace could have been under the impression that ads did not come from third-party sellers but from Amazon itself.