La Semelle Moderne, owner of a French design registered on May 14, 2014, for a shoe sole, brought an action against Vêtir for design and copyright infringement, as well as on the basis of unfair competition and parasitism for the reproduction of the sole design.

The Nanterre Judicial Court deemed the copyright infringement action inadmissible due to La Semelle Moderne’s lack of standing. Further, it rejected La Semelle Moderne’s claims for unfair competition and parasitism.

It ruled against Vêtir on the basis of design infringement, however.

Vêtir appealed this decision before the Versailles Court of Appeal.

In its decision dated March 30, 2023, the Versailles Court of Appeal overturned the lower court’s judgment, rejecting all of La Semelle Moderne’s claims including the design infringement claim.

Firstly, the Court of Appeal considered that the sole in question lacked originality, stating that the sole as a whole could not be considered original. It further noted that the geometric and typographic lines of the sole did not reflect an aesthetic choice or any particular creative effort.

Whilst the design was considered valid by the Court, it refused to find that Vêtir’s actions constituted design infringement. In particular, the Court noted that the majority of elements, including those in the disputed sole, were common in the shoe sole sector, amounting to common practices within the leather goods sector.

Finally, regarding unfair competition and parasitism, the Court found that La Semelle Moderne’s claims should not be upheld since the components of the shoe sole were standard elements of footwear. Under these circumstances, there was neither a likelihood of confusion nor any parasitism.