FASHION IS MADE TO BECOME UNFASHIONABLE
“Fashion is made to become unfashionable,” according to Coco Chanel. Ms. Chanel may have been an accidental intellectual property (IP) guru, decades ahead of her time. She unwittingly referred to an aspect of fashion that some modern IP scholars claim is the crux of the reason why they oppose stronger IP protection for fashion.
THE FASHION LAW CASE OF 2011
The Louboutin v. YSL lawsuit is proving to be the most interesting and informative fashion law case of the year. Most recently, the International Trademark Association ("INTA") published its perspective on the legal issues involved, a perspective that conflicts with the judge's most recent ruling in the case. This development followed on the heels of Tiffany's amicus brief submitted to the court in favor of Louboutin. It's only going to get more interesting as the case proceeds.
IDPPPA STATUS
The European Community provides automatic copyright protection for all designs without registration. In addition, designs can easily be registered and given prima facie superiority in cases of infringement. Design protection is an ancillary of trademark protection and these two areas of law provide the bulk of the protection: unregistered, automatic protection under copyright law and registered protection under design and trademark law. The US, on the contrary, treats fashion design completely differently.
ANTI-COUNTERFEITING NEWS
It's not just the luxury brands anymore. "Lower-end knockoffs have become big business. The economy and the Internet are two major factors....Not that long ago, counterfeiters focused almost exclusively on upscale brands like Prada and Gucci. But five years of a weak economy has knockoff artists churning out goods for people with more modest tastes and budgets".
