About

The legal department of the renowned shoe designer Christian Louboutin is a surprisingly new entity considering the world-wide fame of the company’s brand. The department was created in 2009 when Xavier Ragot was appointed legal manager, employing four individuals working on intellectual property and digital protection and three individuals on corporate and business affairs. Four years ago he was promoted to the position of group general counsel. Ragot has played a fundamental role in creating and implementing several programs for protection and defence of key intellectual property belonging to the designer. The seemingly never-ending legal war for the “red sole” trademark began in 2012 with a win in the USA, a success intertwined with the efforts of Ragot. Many praise this accomplishment highly as it was a non-traditional trademark and in countries with no precedent; indeed up until Ragot’s win it was viewed as an impossible and far-fetched case. A loyal protector of the red sole, Ragot created the Stopfake programme and website to help curb the retail of counterfeit Christian Louboutin shoes. The well-known designer has recently ventured into beauty products with the launch of nail and lip colours, Ragot has legally facilitated this new undertaking while setting up retail subsidiaries in new territories. As a leader of small legal team managing the activities of a company that defines luxury goods, Ragot tells us that he most enjoys his ‘involvement in the business development and advising a very creative designer on legal topics’.