THE RED SOLE FIGHT RUMBLES ON BETWEEN CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN & YSL...!!!

It may be a new year but some things don't change, as the Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Louboutin red sole fight rumbles on. Christian Louboutin has suffered another blow to its attempt to protect its red soles trademark, as a group of eminent law professors has sided with YSL. The academics - from some of the US's most famous law schools - have filed an amicus brief with the Federal Court of Appeals in Manhattan urging the court not to allow Louboutin to "monopolise" the colour, WWD reports. The appeal "should be rejected in order to preserve freedom of innovation and competition," the group stated.

"A woman who buys red shoes is doing so for a reason," the brief argues. "Red shoes have a particular meaning to her, and to others, that cannot be supplied or even approximated by shoes of a different colour. Given the substantial creativity involved in both fashion design and fashion consumption, courts should not lightly allow one particular competitor to monopolise particular fashion submarkets."

YSL filed an appellate brief in late December - within the federal court of appeals deadline - in response to Christian Louboutin's appeal of the court ruling in October. YSL maintains that the court's original judgement - that Christian Louboutin should not be allowed to trademark the colour red - should be upheld and that Louboutin failed to show that YSL's use of the red sole caused "irreparable harm" to its business.

The case, which began in April 2010, may not be settled for months to come.