"A única forma de vencer uma discussão é evitá-la": comentário ao Acórdão C-163/16, Christian Louboutin, do Tribunal de Justiça da União Europeia

This note briefly examines the question of whether the concept of "shape", within the meaning of Article 3(1)(e)(iii) of the Trademark Directive, is restricted to the three-dimen- sional properties of products, such as their contours, measurements and volume, or whether it also includes properties that are not three-dimensional, such as the products' colour, in light of the Advocate General's opinion and the judgment handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Louboutin case. The note concludes with a critical analysis of the reasoning adopted by the Court and advances a proposal for an alternative interpretation.