The Role Of IP In The Fashion Industry: Protecting Designs, Trademarks, And Copyright
The fashion industry is always changing, imposing new trends and styles on the entire world. The intellectual property (IP) rights derived from these creations must therefore be safeguarded. This encompasses a range of additional intellectual property rights that can be secured, from the industrial design of each garment manufactured to the protection of the name or trademark by which such garments are recognized in the market.
The multi-million dollar fashion industry has made intellectual property a crucial component that is helping to drive corporate growth and boost organizations’ positions in the market. The development and monetization of a powerful brand that represents them and has the IP protection necessary to safeguard its rights against competitors show the organizational capacity of a firm and its potential for expansion.
The monetization of a trademark is accomplished by producing marketable items, such as prints and designs utilized in various clothing items, through which a specific brand is identified and favored in trade.
The many intellectual property rights that can be safeguarded in the garment sector will be covered in more detail below in this article.
What is Intellectual Property in the Fashion Industry?
New fashion trends are currently having a big impact on the fashion industry globally. Fashion today encompasses more than simply clothes and accessories. Intellectual property rights fall under the category of intangible rights. The owner’s creative process produces IP rights. It is used to protect a notion or idea. Various types of intellectual property rights, such as copyright, trademark protection, and patent registration, amongst others, may be used to safeguard works based on that particular notion. Intellectual property rights also have a creative and expressive quality. They are utilized in the fashion business in a variety of ways.
Given the creative character of the fashion industry, which increasingly goes beyond only fashion garments, IP regulation both helps and has a big impact on the fashion industry.
Importance of Intellectual Property Rights in the Fashion Industry
The absolute essence of the fashion industry is to inspire and entice consumers with their carefully curated garments. In today’s era when change is the only constant, renewing old styles has become a recent favorite. These often become works of art and classics of fashion and emphasize the importance of protecting intellectual property rights as a fundamental in the world of fashion.
It is the only way to create a safe and healthy environment for designers to have the peace of mind that their creations will be properly protected.
A brand’s reputation is the pure basis of its success. While everyone is aware of markets like Sarojini, Palika, and Janpath for their copies available at throwaway prices, prevention of counterfeiting is indeed extremely difficult. Nevertheless, you can always reduce or completely eliminate risks and damages by investing in your intellectual property rights.
Types of IP rights that are applicable to the fashion sector
Intellectual property rights are a collection of copyrights, patents, designs, and trademarks. These types of IP Rights provide protection for fashion designs and items under IP legislation against piracy and imitation. Fashion designers and other creators are significantly protected from the dangers of copying and counterfeiting because of IP.
Trademarks
To distinguish one brand from another, trademarked signs, symbols, logos, and markings are used. It avoids clients’ “probability of confusion” problems. Every product has a distinctive brand that makes it stand out, that conveys a lot without ever saying a word. For instance, both the “Jaguar” and the “Tick” from the Puma and Nike brand pass for trademarks.
The sector most impacted by trademarks is the fashion industry. Any trademarked brand that wants to be protected against imitation must be registered. By registering their trademarks, brands are protected from having an identical mark that can deceive and turn away potential customers. Trademark registration is governed by the Trademark Act of 1999. Know how to trademark my brand
Trade Dress
When a thing gets a secondary significance, trademark protection for intellectual property rights enters the picture. Consumers can infer the manufacturer of a product from the aesthetic characteristics of the product or its packaging.
It distinguishes between a product’s visual and physical characteristics and determines its origin. A component or facet of trademark law is trade dress. Any product’s external design, internal layout, packaging, or interior might be considered a trade dress. For example, the distinct style and color of an Adidas shoe or the Burberry ‘check pattern’.
Design Registration
Trademark and design registration provides intellectual property rights protection when something acquires secondary significance. The aesthetic qualities of a product or its packaging might be used by consumers to infer the producer.
It determines a product’s provenance and distinguishes between its aesthetic and physical qualities. Trade dress can be protected through design registration for any product’s exterior design, internal layout, packaging, or interior. It also includes the appearance and sound of any products or items, such as the distinctive design and hue of an Adidas shoe. The Designs Act of 2000 safeguards the aesthetic qualities and design components of any design, including its shapes, arrangements, patterns, ornamentation, lines, and hues. The protection offered by the design legislation only applies to original designs.
Copyrights
Copyrights are used to protect literary, dramatic, artistic, and musical works. It is governed by the Copyright Act of 1956. Giving the owner of a certain copyright financial compensation encourages the development and production of new artistic works. A design’s structural and graphical elements are shielded by copyright. It is not necessary to defend the beneficial part of it. However, the fine line between copyright registration and design frequently blurs.
Trade Secrets
By using software tools for fashion design, computer-implemented, software-based business models, and logistics management of the full value chain, it alludes to the fundamental ideas. A corporate concern can govern its market share, profit margins, differentiation, and innovation through the protection of information by IP, aiming for a well-established market position and reducing the danger of IP infringement. In the eyes of the investor and customer, IP protection of assets provides a general impression.
Some examples are: Zara used an innovative information technology system to reduce its production cycle to just 30 days, compared to its competitors’ range of 4 to 12 months. Additionally, a cutting-edge distribution system with over 400 chutes and 200 km of underground traces makes sure that the finished goods are dispatched and reach retailers in under 48 hours.
Customers can design and purchase garments through the online store of the clothing platform Shirtsdotnet. The provision of mass customization clothing solutions has been accomplished through the use of proprietary software that is shielded as a trade secret.
Patents
Patent law protects a design’s creative element in the fashion industry. For a design to be registered as a patent, it must be noble and distinctive. Additionally, the design must be technically and scientifically feasible. However, the fashion industry rarely makes use of patent law. They are more common in the technology sector. The procedure of registering a patent is expensive and time-consuming. Due to its high level of change, the fashion industry has limited value in this market. Nonetheless, there are some great examples that make use of this IP right:
- For the purpose of protecting textiles, the Danish biotech company Novozymes has created an enzyme and cellulose-producing microbes. This gives the denim a weathered appearance by removing some of the indigo pigment. This is currently on a global list for production procedure improvement.
- The Suberis fabric by the Italian firm GrindiSrl is another creative material. It is thought to be as light as silk, as smooth as velvet, and as fireproof as well as machine washable and waterproof. This is mostly utilized in the production of apparel, footwear, and athletic wear, among many other uses.
- The famous Bella Hadid “spray-painted dress” by Coperni runway sans clothing is one of the most recent and talked about examples today.
Some Examples of Intellectual Property Disputes in the Fashion Industry
● My Other Bag v. Louis Vuitton
This example of copyright violation is well-known. In this instance, the company ‘My Other Bag’ created a spoof tote bag with a print of a Louis Vuitton image. My other bag was the target of a lawsuit by Louis Vuitton for design and copyright theft.
In this case, the court ruled that the parody accounts could convey two contemporaneous, diametrically opposed meanings. Louis Vuitton, the petitioner, complained that the defendant had attempted to imitate their copyrighted design. The petitioner added that it is attempting to defend its IP rights in its reply. The court rejected the accusations since the defendant’s offering was a parody.
● Puma v. Forever 21
Infringement of copyright and design are issues in this case. Puma sued forever 21 and the latter have imitated the limited-edition sneakers created by well-known singer Rihanna under the Puma brand. The singer Rihanna personally developed the Creeper Sneaker, Fur Slide, and Bow Slide for the Fenty line.
The court in this case decided that a product does not automatically fall under the umbrella of copyright production merely because a particular celebrity is associated with it or has supported it. Copyright is issued based on the originality and novelty of a particular design as well as the design’s individuality. There was no mention of Rihanna in the lawsuit or in this case.
● Unicolor, Inc. v. Urban Outfitters, Inc.
According to the court, the print pattern of a woman’s garment can be protected by copyright, and any company that copies the design or pattern will be held liable for infringement in this case. So, a print pattern on garments or a specific shoe style can only be imitated. The typical copyright duration is the lifetime of the author or artist plus 60 years beginning with the year of death.
● Ritika Apparels v. BIBA
In this case, a clothing company copied designs from one fashion house and used them in their own product, resulting in Ms. Ritu Kumar suffering a loss of income. The Copyright Act’s Section 15(2), states that if a creation that qualifies for design law protection has not been registered with the design authorities and has been copied more than fifty times, the copyright in the same product will be deemed permanently lost, has a flaw that allowed BIBA to get away with it.
● Fossil, Inc. v. Romag Fasteners, Inc.
One of the most well-known examples is this. After bringing a trademark and patent infringement case against well-known watchmaker Fossil, Romag, a modest company with headquarters in the US, quickly gained recognition. A trademark is frequently used to determine consumer interest and attention since the products are distinctive and innovative in concept.
● Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc.
The dispute, which was heard by the US Supreme Court, concerns the copyrightability of cheerleading uniform designs and the idea of “separability,” which is a need for clothing or another usable item to be covered by US copyright law. Clothes, dresses, shoes, purses, and other utilitarian products are not covered by copyright protection as a whole because the law does not aim to protect or establish a monopoly over them. In order to qualify for copyright protection in the United States, a design element must be able to be physically removed from a garment or other useful or functional object. Since only specific components of their outfits, rather not the entire item, are protectable, the whole situation has long been a big source of annoyance for American designers.
● Parfümerie Akzente GmbH v. Coty Germany GmbH
The case involving third-party internet retailers like Amazon and luxury cosmetics maker Coty led to this significant ruling. In this case, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) determined that luxury brand owners are permitted to limit the sale of their products by their authorized distributors to online third-party platforms, such as Amazon, in order to safeguard the luxury aspect of their goods.
Determining whether these restrictions violated European competition laws was the case’s original goal. However, it is also very much an IP-related matter because it focuses on how trademark owners can safeguard the value of their premium brands when their items are sold by authorized distributors to unaffiliated third-party online marketplaces.
The CJEU effectively ruled in this case that Coty, which holds the licenses for a wide range of branded fragrances like Calvin Klein, Prada, and Marc Jacobs, has the right to prevent brands from selling their goods on independent online retail websites.
Benefits of Having Intellectual Property Rights in the Fashion Industry
=> Strategic assets and efficient marketing
A strong and well-known brand is recognized for its strategic assets and efficient marketing. The brand’s reputation is essential for luring new customers and promoting corporate growth. For this purpose intellectual property rights must be distributed and used wisely. IP rights frequently result in a brand’s reputation progressing. Hence, to maximize output and growth, a brand might distribute and monetize its intellectual property rights in a number of ways.
=> Long-term growth and reputation
Since everyone is seeking to get a competitive edge in today’s world of counterfeit goods by adopting immoral strategies like copying, imitating, and counterfeiting, it is essential to recognize, establish, and register intellectual property rights. In the digital age, registering an IP address is a simple and inexpensive process. Spending money on IP creation leads to a corporation’s long-term growth. As a result, a brand gets the right recognition.
A brand’s reputation can be improved via IP rights. Popular fashion brands like Zara and Sabyasachi are frequently seen by customers as being more dependable and sincere. Consumers commonly relate personal values to brand ideas. Having a strong portfolio of your intellectual property rights is just as important as registering those rights. In order to make intellectual property rights more appealing to customers, they should be commercialized in a novel way. In addition to everything else, it’s important to invest in a strong marketing and HR team, especially today as the entire world is digital.
=> Builds the trust and interest of customers
Geographical markers can help improve a brand’s image of quality and assist customers in determining the product’s origins. With the help of carefully established IP rights, a brand’s overall reputation can improve and its position in the market can be solidified. It gives you a competitive advantage as well.
CONCLUSION
Today’s market is rife with competition. Businesses must now more than ever compete in a much bigger market. The brands must therefore expand their online and worldwide presence. In order to increase their global footprint, international IP rights registration is necessary. To establish their presence online, an effective internet marketing strategy is needed. Additionally, it is essential to safeguard your online assets, such as by registering domain names.
Fashion retailers have access to a range of e-commerce websites to showcase their products. This will gradually increase their visibility and guarantee that their authors receive the right recognition.
All businesses must establish and keep a strong brand identity. To promote further growth in the fashion industry, intellectual property assets must be distributed and made commercially viable.
- Apoorva Sharma
- May 23, 2023