MOSCOW, July 21 (RAPSI) – The Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals in Moscow has upheld the ruling of a lower court over recovery of 24.3 million rubles ($368,000) from four Russian firms in favor of famous French fashion designer Christian Louboutin and his company "Christian Louboutin S.A.S." for sales of counterfeit perfumery products, RAPSI learned in the court on Thursday.

In April, the Moscow Commercial Court granted a lawsuit lodged by Christian Louboutin seeking compensation. The defendants, “Interlux-Perfume”, “InterPrestige Group”, “Image Perfume” and “Klementina”, were also prohibited from selling perfumery goods misrepresented as the plaintiffs’ production.

According to the plaintiffs’ representative, Moscow companies were selling fakes online using their websites.

The defendants argued that the perfume products were imported legally. They admitted that the products were imported, but denied selling of them. Also the defendants claimed that there is a lack of similarities between contested trademarks and trademark of the plaintiff.

French fashion designer Christian Louboutin is famous for his collection of trendy red-soled shoes. In 2012, the New York Court of Appeals granted Christian Louboutin the exclusive right to red soles in women’s shoes. The court ruled that the contrasting red sole of Louboutin shoes is a distinctive mark that should be protected as a trademark. In 2012, Christian Louboutin launched a beauty product line.