Christian Louboutin Sues YSL for Making Red Soles

There's a different kind of trademark infringement suit happening in the world of fashion. Normally, it's a designer and a no-name copycat going to battle, but this time two fashion giants are in a dispute.

Yves Saint Laurent's spring 2011 collection features some red pumps with matching red soles. In a fierce display of red-sole entitlement, Christian Louboutin is suing YSL for this. Christian Louboutin accuses fellow Parisian fashion powerhouse Yves Saint Laurent of counterfeiting and infringing on his brand's trademark look: the red sole. The lawsuit cites four specific YSL models that all have scarlet soles.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think one designer should be able to claim trademark rights in all red soles, everywhere. That would be a huge design limitation to put on other shoemakers. Plus, come on, YSL is a big enough deal that it isn't trying to steal goodwill from Louboutin - it has plenty of its own goodwill! More here and here.

Corporate Finance for the Fashion World...

Two legal stories from fashion world to report.

First, Prada had a stellar year in 2010 and it appears to be close to listing itself on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Women's Wear Daily reports that Prada's initial public offering would consist of a 20-percent stake that values the company at $9.5 billion, but per the Hong Kong listing authorities, the label isn't allowed to talk to the press about it until they've been approved.

Next up, Jimmy Choo wants to buy back Jimmy Choo. Fashionista reports that Jimmy Choo doesn't own his namesake label and actually hasn't been involved for more than 10 years. Instead, a UK private equity firm, TowerBrook, owns the majority of the company. Tamara Mellon, co-founder/chief creative officer, also owns 15% of the business. If Choo is successful, this could create major shifts within the brand as Choo’s ownership of the company would almost certainly alienate Mellon.

News: Women lawyers leaving in droves

Bummer story coming out of the Toronto Star today on how women are leaving law practice in droves. It's not exactly new news but the optimist in me keeps hoping things will get better in big law land. Either way, it's good to keep up with what barriers are still in place so we can all work to knock them down.

Hat tip: Cynthia for sending me this article.

Rodarte Won't Get Credit for Designing Black Swan Costumes

According to Fashionista, Kate and Laura Mulleavy - the designers behind Rodarte, won't be credited for their obvious contribution to the costumes in Black Swan. The Mulleavy sisters created 40 costumes for the Darren Aronofsky thriller, including outfitting the entire ballet corps. So it's crazy that Rodarte will be shut out of the Oscars.

A source told The Hollywood Reporter, that the Mulleavy’s were “naive about movies,” meaning they didn’t negotiate credits in their initial deal, and weren’t members of the the Costume Design Guild when they worked on the film (they are now). They are ineligible for Oscar consideration because the rules dictate that only the front credit designer is eligible. Amy Westcott will take the credit, as she received the “front credit” as costume designer for the film while the Mulleavy sisters only receive a backend credit.

The Mulleavy’s have since changed their representation. Somewhere an entertainment lawyer is crying over this...

Funny Ontario Superior Court Decision

Jezebel has picked up on a story about an Ontario divorce decision that is going viral. Ontario Superior Court Judge Joseph Quinn -- no, not the Joseph Quinn from Dexter pictured here -- slammed a couple for "marinating in a mutual hatred so intense as to surely amount to a personality disorder."

The judge also pronounced the idea of reconciliation "laughable," mentioning the wife's attempt to run the husband over as — "always a telltale sign that a husband and wife are drifting apart."

Further evidence? The husband's habit of giving his wife's house the bird whenever he passed. Observed Quinn, "a finger is worth a thousand words and therefore, is particularly useful should one have a vocabulary of less than a thousand words." Ouch!

America's Next Top Model, errr... Summer Associate?

This is a bit of an older story but somehow no one I know picked up on it...
Sara Albert (now Sara Hallmark), who made it to the final four on America’s Next Top Model – Cycle 6, has managed to snag a summer associate position in the Washington office of a major international law firm. I guess her OCI was really "fierce." Above the Law has the full story here.

Punk Rock Pearls

New York magazine rounds up some alternative, dare I say... "punk rock" pearls.

I'm in love with this piece by Rachel Roy. Probably not appropriate for Bay Street though...

Rise of the 'Zombie Banks'

The Financial Post ran an article called "Central Banks Warned Low Rates May Create 'Zombie Banks'".

Awesome! The article reminded me of a day in first year contract law when a student asked if a contract can ever come back after it has been rescinded. The Professor responded sternly "no, there are no zombie contracts." This prompted one of my friends to say - in their best zombie voice, with arms outstretched - "you promised me braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains." Hilarity ensued.

Wait, I just googled "zombie bank" in an effort to find a sweet image for this post and discovered "zombie bank" is actually a thing. Investopedia defines zombie bank as "a bank or financial institution with negative net worth. Although zombie banks typically have a net worth below zero, they continue to operate as a result of government backings or bailouts that allow these banks to meet debt obligations and avoid bankruptcy. Zombie banks often have a large amount of nonperforming assets on their balance sheets which make future earnings very unpredictable.

Snoop Dogg tried to rent Liechtenstein

Oh man, I've always found Liechtenstein hilarious for some reason. The only times it's ever really come up are (1) a case in international law class, (2) when Switzerland accidentally invaded them, and (3) when my friend Jeff told me that he's been there and they have a Hooters.

Naturally, I'm happy to report (4) Snoop Dogg tried to rent the entire country for one of his video shoots. Even funnier, it probably would have worked, if he had just given them enough time.

Candy maker issues chocolate bonds

The CBC has a funny story about how British confectioner Hotel Chocolat hopes to raise the equivalent of $7.3 million by issuing bonds in which the payments are made not in money but in chocolate.

The U.K. chocolatier is taking advantage of low interest rates to fund its expansion plans. Under the scheme, 100,000 of its Tasting Club members — who already pay for home deliveries — will be offered the opportunity to put up between 2,000 and 4,000 British pounds ($3,000 and $6,000 Cdn) for a three-year "chocolate bond." The less expensive bond earns the buyer a delivery of 18 pounds ($27 Cdn) worth of chocolate every two months, the equivalent of a 6.72 per cent yield. A larger investment earns 7.29 per cent, because the same shipment will come monthly.

I look forward to reading their candy-coated prospectus.

Law & Order: Bye Bye NYC but Hello Los Angeles

The NYT reports that NBC confirmed on Friday that another cherished New York brand was moving to Los Angeles. The network canceled the original “Law & Order” series after keeping it on the air for 20 years. In its place, NBC is ordering a new drama, “Law & Order: Los Angeles,” moving the franchise to a place where there are presumably more murders to investigate.

I'm still pretty heartbroken about this. I love Law & Order -- I mean, the intro song for the show is the ringtone on my phone. I get some funny looks, but I feel like Dick Wolf deserves at least my ringtone for all the awesomeness that he has spawned. Anyway, I hope that Cyrus Lupo (Jeremy Sisto's character) magically gets transferred to the Law & Order: Los Angeles show.

‘Law & Order’ in Jeopardy?

What?! Someone at NBC better be pulling a publicity stunt. The NYT reports that TV's longest running series 'Law & Order' may be in trouble. At this point there are also reports that talks are continuing and that the show might still avoid a cancellation, but people who work on the pioneering crime drama were told Thursday afternoon that the show had been canceled. NBC declined to comment. This is awful news! NBC better get its act in gear, this is the best show on television. Hopefully, long-time fans of the show will demonstrate enough support to keep it on the air. More here, here, and here.

Versace Wins $20M in Counterfeit Lawsuit

Fashionista has picked up a story about the on-going Versace lawsuit. Seven years after Versace filed a counterfeit suit against Los Angeles-based manufacturing company Tres Hermanos Inc. and its owner, Monir Awada, the luxury brand has prevailed. Awada was ordered to pay the brand $20 million in damages for selling fake Versace t-shirts and other items like jeans and sweatshirts to at least 72 stores in the Los Angeles area. Versace probably won’t ever see any of his money because Awada probably isn't worth that much BUT the ruling is another positive step for brands on an anti-counterfeiting crusade. I used to work at a government office where someone actually set up a booth selling counterfeit goods in the lobby of the building. It was wild. I mentioned it to the police guarding the facility and they simply informed me they couldn't do anything. Maybe we really do need new copyright laws in Canada?

Interview with Canada's Chief Justice

Allison Crawford sat down for a rare one-on-one interview the Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin to discuss her first 10 years as the chief justice. McLachlin touches on building concensus between justices, judicial review, public access to the court, public perceptions of the court activist/deferential, and her future on the bench. Overall, a very listenable discussion.

Here is the full interview.

Hat tip to my friend, Sean, for sending this my way.

Safety Pints + Trump U

Lowering the Bar has two awesomely ridiculous stories:

(#1) Forget about the election, the real important story in Britain is about pint glasses. The British government has been trying to keep British people from trying to kill each other with them. So much so, that they've designed and are now testing a new pint glass.

(#2) Someone actually willingly chose to pay $60,000 to attend Trump University. And - shockingly - it was a bad idea. Now they've decided to sue the Donald.

Backlash Against Law School Clinics

There has been some push-back against law school clinics in the US lately. First, in Maryland, lawmakers threatened, but ultimately backed off, a proposal to withhold state money from the University of Maryland School of Law unless its law clinics turned over case information. Now, in Louisiana, lawmakers are considering a bill that would prohibit clinics at law schools that receive government funding from suing a government agency or seeking money damages from an individual or business.

I'm not sure the rationale behind the Louisiana law makes sense:
“The intent [of the bill] is fairly simple,” said state senator Robert Adley, who introduced the bill. “Philosophically, I’m opposed to taking taxpayer money and then turning around and suing taxpayers. If you’re going to take money from the taxpayers and the government, you ought not be able to sue the taxpayers and the government.”
(1) If you can't sue taxpayers and government, who does that leave out?
(2) Wouldn't this logic also imply that since taxpayers pay for police services, then officers shouldn't be allowed to "turn around" and arrest citizens when they break the law?

More here and here.

Lawyers Needed in Small Town Ontario

Looking for a law job? Then small town Ontario might be for you! Canadian Business reports that there's a big time shortage.

Career Advice for Lawyers

I came across two useful articles with helpful career advice for lawyers:

(1) The Glass Hammer interviewed Linda Carlisle, who is a Partner at White and Case. She took a unique path into law and has some useful advice about mentors, supportive spouses and the importance of "wagging your own tail."

(2) Nicole Garton-Jones writes in Slaw.ca about defining success on your own terms and not getting sucked into what other people see as the correct path to follow.

Supreme Court Justice Louis LeBel

Lawyers Weekly chats with Supreme Court Justice Louis LeBel.

He provides insights on divisions within the top court, how he feels when he's on the dissenting side and the cases that challenged him the most, and offers his view on the leadership of Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.

It's not really controversial stuff, but always useful to hear from "the Supremes."

Why read law blogs?

Volokh Consipracy's Eugene Volokh, Professor of Law at UCLA, speaks on the role of law blogs as a source of immediate, expert information and opinion in the modern media marketplace: