BREAKING - Louboutin case referred to CJEU: can a colour be a shape?
The shape colour red Via a precious Katfriend who wishes to remain anonymous but nonetheless tweets as @TreatyNotifier comes the news that a new reference for a preliminary ruling in the area of trade marks has just been made to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). This is in the context of long-running litigation over the (in)famous Louboutin red soles. The question for the CJEU to address is whether the notion of 'shape' within Article 3(1)(e)(iii) of Directive 2008/95 is limited to three-dimensional elements of a product or can also include two-dimensional ones like, for instance, a colour. Article 3 sets the absolute grounds for refusal of registration. Article 3(1)(iii) prevents registration of signs which consist exclusively of the 'shape' which gives substantial value to the goods. This Kat understands that not all language versions of the directive speak of 'shape'. Indeed, the French version refers to '...