Rihanna‘s social media post has, likely inadvertently, caused a loss for Puma in the European Union, with a courts ruling that a sneaker design from the brand can’t be legally protected by trademark.
Back in 2014, the billionaire multihyphenate made a post on Instagram that announced her role as the creative director of Puma. In the photo, she can be seen wearing a pair of sneakers with a chunky sole.
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“On the dotted line #PUMA,” she captioned the photo.
Check it out below.
In 2016, Puma attempted to file a patent with the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office for the shoes seen in that photo, but was met with opposition from Dutch shoe wholesaler J.H. van Hilst, who argued that the shoe couldn’t be patented because it was already in the public domain, as the pop icon had shared its design to millions of people via her IG post over a year prior.
When van Hilst won the case, Puma went to court again to get the judgment reversed.
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But as of Wednesday (March 6), a European Union court ruled against the shoe manufacturer once again.
“The General Court dismisses the action brought by Puma against that decision,” read a press release about the decision. “The General Court upholds EUIPO’s assessment that those images [of Rihanna wearing the shoes] are sufficient to demonstrate the disclosure of the prior design and that that disclosure could have become known to the circles specialised in the sector concerned.”
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The court continued: “In that regard, it states that the images taken from the Instagram account named ‘badgalriri’, published in December 2014, make it possible to identify, with the naked eye or by enlarging those photos, all essential features of the prior design. In that context, the General Court rejects Puma’s arguments that nobody took an interest in Rihanna’s shoes in December 2014 and that nobody therefore perceived the prior design.”
A statement from the court about its judgment is below.
Rihanna social media post puts Puma shoes in the public domain pic.twitter.com/w9YR82ISDU
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) March 10, 2024
The judgment, however, only extends to Puma’s position in the European Union. It does not extend to Puma’s right, or lack thereof, to trademark the shoes in the United States.
Meanwhile, Rihanna’s relationship with Puma continues.
Last September, Rih Rih’s Fenty brand teamed up with Puma to unveil their first sneaker collaboration, as the singer put her spin on the classic Avanti model.
The reimagined King Avanti was announced on September 7 through a series of photos and teaser clips. It arrived at Puma retailers on September 15 with a retail price of $160.
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“Digging into Puma’s archives is always incredible,” Rihanna told Vogue. “There is so much history and legacy here, and I wanted to honor that by paying tribute to the Avanti.
“[The King is] the shoe [Brazilian football player] Pelé played in and made very famous, and I know people are looking forward to their return.”
