Can a trendy sandal be art? Germany’s highest court wrestled with this question. 

Sandal marker Birkenstock filed a lawsuit. It says its products should be protected as art. The court’s decision? Birkenstocks are just cool footwear.

The Birkenstock family has been making shoes since 1774. Today, the company’s most popular model has two wide straps and buckles. Three other companies started making copycat versions. Birkenstock sued. The lawyer representing Birkenstock says the sandal has an “iconic design.” That sets it apart. 

The company claims its sandals “are copyright-protected works of applied art.” Copyright protection means no one else can make shoes just like Birkenstock’s. Under German law, works of art have strong protection. That’s meant to keep people from stealing someone else’s creative idea. Protection lasts for 70 years after the death of the designer. 

Birkenstock has been around for hundreds of years. But Karl Birkenstock, the designer of many of the modern sandals, is still alive.

Birkenstock wanted the law to stop the other shoemakers. A local judge agreed. But another court disagreed. So the case went before Germany’s highest court on February 20. Justice Thomas Koch decided that Birkenstock’s wide-strapped, big-buckled sandals don’t qualify as art. 

“For the copyright protection of a work of applied art—as for all other types of work—the level of design must not be too low,” Judge Koch wrote.

This case might seem silly. But it leaves us with an important question. What is art? Art is created work that tells a story or expresses meaning. Think of paintings, songs, books, movies, and sculptures. Shoes, wristwatches, or bicycles can look “iconic.” But does that make something art? 

Humans are made in the image of the greatest artist—God. He gives us the ability to make art too.