Luxury brand Christian Louboutin faces a dilemma over how to address former President Donald Trump’s new red-bottomed sneakers: challenge Trump and risk politically charged backlash, or sit idly by and endanger the trademark protection of its iconic red soles.
Trump appeared Saturday at Sneaker Con to launch the new “Never Surrender High-Top” sneakers, which are Trump-branded and gold with a bright red sole. The announcement was quickly followed by social media posts commenting on the similarities between the shoes’ red soles and those of Christian Louboutin, a brand with a history of lawsuits enforcing its trademark-protected red soles.
“There are plenty of reasons for Louboutin to see red here,” said Fordham University School of Law Professor Susan Scafidi. “The question really is whether or not the brand—from a business perspective and from a communications perspective—should go charging him” with trademark infringement. The company’s calculus is made more complicated by the political ramifications and the potential business consequences of losing the intellectual property rights to what may be its biggest asset.
Louboutin’s trademark No. 3,361,597, covering “a lacquered red sole on footwear” for women’s high fashion designer shoes, was registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office in 2008. The company has used the design since 1992, according to the registration.
The mark was largely upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2012 following a years-long battle with fashion house Yves Saint Laurent. The appellate court ruled a single color can serve as a protectable trademark in the fashion industry, but narrowed Louboutin’s mark to apply only against red-soled women’s shoes that had a contrasting upper color.
Louboutin hasn’t been shy about bringing lawsuits since that win, filing at least four complaints in 2023 accusing others of infringing the red-sole mark.
“Red soles have become so iconic and just completely associated with Louboutin,” said Danielle Garno, a partner at Holland & Knight LLP.
Though its trademark registration is limited to women’s high-fashion shoes, Louboutin currently sells women’s and men’s sneakers that feature the red sole, and the Trump sneakers are listed in both men’s and women’s sizes.
Social Media Reactions
Social media users began commenting on Louboutin’s Instagram page within days of Trump’s announcement. “Please, please, PLEASE sue Donald Trump for infringing on your red sole trademark!” one said in a comment. Another added, “You licensed your trademark red sole to that wannabe _______? Clarify with a statement please.”
Several trademark lawyers were similarly struck by the sneakers’ soles and said Louboutin would likely have a strong case for trademark infringement and dilution, which occurs when the use of a sufficiently similar mark diminishes the public’s perception of the famous mark.
When a consumer sees a red-soled shoe, “you know immediately who’s made that shoe,” said Crowell & Moring LLP Partner Preetha Chakrabarti. Now when one sees someone wearing the Trump sneakers, they might ask, “Huh, is Louboutin making a clunky gold sneaker now?” she said.
The social media comments showcase legitimate consumer confusion, Chakrabarti said, and now consumers that have spent thousands of dollars on the high-end shoes could be concerned their shoes align with the Trump brand.
It goes to “whether or not being associated with Trump and MAGA, you know, diminishes the public perceptions of the mark” or whether the mark is “harmed through that association,” Garno said.
On the other hand, most comments demonstrate consumers aren’t confused, said Jeff Van Hoosear, a partner at Knobbe Martens, who disagreed with the interpretation that all the posts could help the fashion brand in a lawsuit. Social media users may just want to see a fight between the two brands, he said.
“They know that Louboutin is a fighter,” he said, pointing to the lengthy Yves Saint Laurent case. “They know that Trump doesn’t back down either, so this would be great, right? Two people that want to fight each other,” he said of the social media reactions.
Louboutin, the Trump Organization, and Trump campaign didn’t respond to Bloomberg Law’s requests for comment.
Enforcement Risks
Louboutin would have several options should it decide to respond to the Trump shoe launch. It could send a cease-and-desist letter, but a potential lawsuit with Trump could be fraught with delays and threats, Van Hoosear said.
While Louboutin is known for having a strong brand protection strategy, it’s plausible the political context of the potential dispute is affecting its usual approach, Chakrabarti said. The brand’s attorneys could be weighing trademark enforcement against broader business considerations as it mulls its response, she said.
“If they don’t take action here, what signal does that send to competitors?” Chakrabarti said, warning that it could harm Louboutin’s mark. Under US trademark law, failing to enforce trademark rights can lead to those rights being weakened or even removed altogether as the mark ceases to function as a source identifier.
Only 1,000 pairs of the now “sold-out” sneakers were being sold, according to the website selling them—GetTrumpSneakers.com—which called them “super limited"—but it’s possible additional pairs could be sold in the future. If Louboutin allows the potentially infringing use to continue, it could lose its mark, said Scafidi, who serves as the director of Fordham’s Fashion Law Institute.
“You run the risk of some copyist later on coming and saying, ‘Yes, but you allowed all of these other unauthorized uses, therefore your mark is generic and you can’t stop me,’” Scafidi said.
If the company did respond, it would need to consider more than the legal issues. There would have to be a press-relations strategy, as well, Garno said, because there’s been a lot of backlash when companies have tried to disassociate with Trump. Companies also need to consider how their stance may alienate a wide consumer base, she added.
Potential Defenses
The website hawking the Trump sneakers explicitly states 45Footwear LLC isn’t “owned, managed or controlled by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization, CIC Ventures LLC or any of their respective principals or affiliates,” but uses Trump’s name, likeness and image under a paid license from CIC Ventures LLC.
If Louboutin were to sue over the shoes, the first cause of action may be against the company that created them, Scafidi said. But she added that it’s possible Trump would be included in a lawsuit because he is so intertwined with the gold shoes’ branding, having endorsed them at Sneaker Con and allowing his face to be on the website.
Neither 45Footwear LLC nor CIC Ventures LLC responded to Bloomberg Law’s requests for comment.
If hit with a trademark infringement lawsuit, Trump has several possible defenses, Van Hoosear said. He could argue he’s not an ordinary competitor to Louboutin and the sneakers don’t infringe on its mark because they aren’t in the same market as women’s high fashion, and the red sneaker sole isn’t lacquered, he said.
The website also includes a disclaimer that “The images shown are for illustration purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the product,” which could provide an opportunity to change the shoe to dodge a lawsuit, Van Hoosear added.
Trump also has a potential defense relying on how the red soles bleed into the white boxing around the bottom of the shoe, Scafidi said, which is different than Louboutin’s narrowed mark. “These shoes may have been designed by lawyers” so they’d be just different enough to avoid a risky lawsuit, she said.
Trump isn’t new to IP issues, Chakrabarti said, pointing to unauthorized use of music during his campaign. Some high profile artists, including the Rolling Stones, threatened Trump with legal action over song use during the 2020 presidential campaign. But legal actions carry other costs for the parties involved, she said.
“He’s not new to using others’ IP without permission,” she said. “It always puts the owner of IP in a really difficult spot because a lot of these brands and companies want to stay apolitical.”
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