About

In under 30 years, French designer footwear company Christian Louboutin has become a world renowned luxury brand famous for its red-lacquered soles. Xavier Ragot, group general counsel, explains how he leads a ‘creative, proactive and young team, deeply involved in the business’. Ragot recently oversaw a reorganisation of the department that now consists of four lawyers covering business affairs and corporate, and five lawyers handling intellectual property (IP) and digital work. Aurélie Souet has been highlighted by Ragot as a key component of the team ‘for her great work as manager of the business affairs and corporate team’, as has Mayeul Dastugue who joined in 2012 to revive and reinforce the company’s online brand protection strategy and has since ‘significantly impacted the IP Digital practice related to internet monitoring’. One such success saw the team develop and integrate a follow-up digital tool focusing on the image rights owned by Christian Louboutin – this tool, when used in conjunction with internet monitoring on designs, meant that the team could quickly identify the sale of counterfeit goods. Other notable team members include the experienced Claire Prieur who also serves as a legal counsel in the IP and digital division. As a collective department, the team’s tangible impact on the business is exemplified by drawing up its global privacy corporate rules, setting up Christian Louboutin’s luxury beauty business with Batallure Beauty LLC in 2012, and on a range of negotiations concerning distribution, retail and lease agreements. Having helped the company win trademark cases in Europe to protect its famous red sole design, the team also assisted in a significant design patent case in China related to cosmetics containers and was the first successful case ever of its kind in Guangzhou. With strong competition in the luxury goods market, the legal team will continue to implement processes that will further facilitate the fashion designer’s international growth.