Christian Louboutin goes to court.
The French luxury shoe designer is suing a former employee. According to the industry magazine Women’s Wear Daily, the defendant allegedly sold stolen and copyright-infringing shoe patterns and leather goods with Louboutin trademarks.
In a lawsuit filed in the US Southern District of New York, Christian Louboutin accuses an employee of stealing and purchasing thousands of dollars worth of sample products from France while working for the Louboutin brand. The defendant allegedly sold these stolen goods via social media, violating trademark rights, engaging in unfair competition and violating his employment contract. The lawsuit alleges that he engaged in illegal activity in France while working for Christian Louboutin boutiques and continued when he was transferred to the Madison Avenue store in New York.
The stolen products, which were advertised in a Facebook group titled “Christian Louboutin VIP Buy/Sell,” were unauthorized samples that were not intended for sale and may have misled buyers into believing they were Really. Louboutin is seeking damages and an injunction to prevent the defendant from further profiting from the stolen and infringing goods.
This lawsuit is the latest legal battle for Louboutin. In the dispute with the luxury shoe designer over the protection of intellectual property, the online giant Amazon recently suffered a defeat before the European Court of Justice (ECJ).