The iconic yellow stitching of Dr. Martens has once again taken center stage before the Paris courts.
In a judgment rendered on 17 September 20251, the Paris Court of Appeal held the Irish company VAVI Limited, operator of the website labellepiece.fr, liable for trademark infringement, copyright infringement, and unfair competition and parasitism, to the detriment of Airwair International Ltd and Dr Martens Airwair France.
The claimants, Airwair International, owner of the DR. MARTENS and AIRWAIR trademarks and of French figurative mark No. 95578243 (the famous yellow-stitched sole), and Dr Martens Airwair France, the brand’s French distributor, accused VAVI Limited of marketing, between 2020 and 2022, several models of shoes (the Tina Boots, Drake Boots, Drake Boots Hiver, Django, Colette, and Nikkita) under the label La Belle Pièce.
According to the plaintiffs, these models slavishly copied the distinctive features and visual identity of Dr. Martens’ iconic boots, the 1460, Jadon, and Sinclair, thus infringing their intellectual-property rights and reputation.
After an initial injunction in 2022 and a first-instance judgment by the Paris Judicial Court on 6 October 2023 (3rd Chamber, 2nd Section), VAVI, which failed to appear on appeal, was once again condemned by the Paris Court of Appeal upon application by the Dr. Martens group.
The claimants relied on a comprehensive set of legal bases:
The Court’s reasoning
The Court confirmed that French figurative mark No. 95578243, filed in 1995, enjoys distinctive character, both inherently and through use.
The combination of a thick dark sole, a contrasting yellow stitch, a grooved edge, and a diagonal heel angle was found to depart significantly from industry standards and to enable consumers to instantly identify the origin of the product.
Extensive evidence, press coverage, a 2021 consumer survey linking the yellow stitch to Dr. Martens, and marketing campaigns, substantiated this recognition.
The Court thus held that the Tina Boots marketed by VAVI reproduced these elements and therefore infringed the figurative trademark.
The Court further acknowledged the originality of the Jadon model, designed in 2012, highlighting its creative choices: a massive “Quad” platform sole, a slender upper contrasting with the thick sole, double rear stitching, and a signature heel loop.
These design elements reflected the designer’s free and aesthetic choices, expressing her personal creative intent beyond mere adaptation of the 1460 model.
The Drake and Drake Hiver boots, replicating these characteristics, thus constituted copyright infringement.
The Court also upheld the claim of Dr Martens Airwair France, the French distributor, finding that VAVI had deliberately fostered consumer confusion and taken unfair advantage of the group’s marketing and reputation.
Between 2018 and 2022, Dr. Martens had invested over £5 million in France to promote its products — investments from which VAVI unlawfully benefited through imitation.
The Paris Court of Appeal:
The Court denied the request for publication in the press, considering the awarded remedies sufficient.
This ruling reinforces the vigilance of French courts in protecting the aesthetic codes of fashion and footwear design.
It underscores that even a seemingly modest design element, a simple yellow stitch, may serve as a trademark and enjoy full protection under intellectual property law when it embodies strong brand identity.
In intellectual-property law, as this case reminds us, sometimes even a stitch can make history.
