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Rihanna and Puma have been partners for nearly a decade now. They began collaborating in 2014, with the singer as the creative director and brand ambassador. To commemorate the feat, Rihanna took to her Instagram with a post. Nearly a decade later, Rihanna’s 2014 Puma post has sadly caused a setback for the fashion brand. Recently, Puma suffered a big blow, losing a trademark dispute in a European Union court, all thanks to the Guinness World record holder‘s post.
Rihanna Marks New Partnership With Puma
Rihanna‘s 2014 Puma post recently caused the fashion brand to lose a court case. In 2014, the Fenty mogul took to social media to celebrate her partnership with Puma as its creative director. The Instagram post showed the singer in an all-white ensemble with black chunky-sole sneakers. “On the dotted line #PUMA,” Rihanna captioned the snapshot of herself signing a document. Although the milestone was a big reason to celebrate, the post came back to hurt the brand two years later.
Rihanna and Puma’s Patent Case
In 2016, Puma filed with the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office to get legal protection for the design of the shoes in the photo. However, Dutch shoe wholesaler J. Van Hilst contested the filing, noting that Puma couldn’t get protection for the design. They argued that it wasn’t possible since Rihanna had already publicly shared the design with millions online. The Dutch wholesaler even provided the court with pictures from the post to secure the invalidation. However, Puma argued that no one was interested in Rihanna’s shoes then and didn’t notice the design.
Sadly, the court didn’t agree with Puma’s argument, ruling in J. Van Hilst’s favor in 2022. Relentless, Puma went to court again to appeal the judgment. Yet, on March 6, 2024, an EU Court again rejected Puma’s argument. “The General Court dismisses the action brought by Puma against that decision,” a press release about the decision read.
“General Court upholds EUIPO’s assessment that those images [of Rihanna wearing the shoes] are sufficient to demonstrate the disclosure of the prior design and that that disclosure could have become known to the circles specialized in the sector concerned.”
In conclusion, the court noted that enlarging the photos made it possible to identify the design. Meanwhile, Rihanna and Puma can still appeal the ruling at the European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest legal chamber.
