The designer, was involved in a trademark infringement case in the US, back in 2012 and involving Yves Saint Laurent, to retain the right exclusively to use red soles. At the time, a New York court ruled Louboutin has trademark protection for its red soles unless the shoe itself was also red.

Now, a new trademark case is heading to the Court of Justice of the European Union following a lawsuit initiated against Dutch footwear brand Van Haren in 2013, which had a red-soled style in its “5th Avenue by Halle Berry" collection. The court ordered the brand to stop production and sale of the shoe, however the Dutch brand appealed the decision in 2014.

At the time the Van Haren brand argued that the red sole "lacked the distinctiveness" which would associate it with a particular designer, one of the requirements for trademark in Brussels. Now the European institution will have to decide just how trademark-worthy the red sole can be.

Image credits: Louboutin World Instagram