An Instagram post by the singer Rihanna caused the German athletic wear company Puma to lose a patent case for a shoe design at the EU General Court on Wednesday.
The EU General Court said in a statement for the ruling that "the prior disclosure of a Puma shoe model by the artist Rihanna" invalidates the registered shoe design patent.
Puma registered the design in 2016. Handelsmaatschappij J. van Hilst (HJVH), a Dutch shoe company, secured the invalidation of the design at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in 2022.
Puma appealed the invalidation at the EU General Court.
To secure the invalidation, the Dutch company submitted pictures of Rihanna in December 2014 from her Instagram account badgalriri. The images showed Rihanna wearing the Puma shoe with a chunky black sole.
These images were circulated widely in the media coverage of Rihanna's appointment as Puma's new creative director.
As a result, the EUIPO found that Rihanna had worn the shoes showing the design with the same features 12 months before the registration was filed in 2016 and had disclosed the design.
Puma argued that nobody took any interest in Rihanna's shoes in December 2014. The EU General Court dismissed this as the singer was a world-famous pop star with fans and fashion circles particularly interested in her footwear.
Puma may appeal the ruling at the European Court of Justice, the EU's highest legal chamber.
