Are knockoffs good for the Fashion industry Research Paper

Are knockoffs good for the Fashion industry - Research Paper Example The paper "Are knockoffs good for the Fashion industry" talks about knockoffs in the fashion industry. According to the old notion, fashion was craft and not an art. Today the concept has changed. According to the new definition, fashion is a form of creative expression and is very near to wearable art. Nowadays, fashion industry is facing copyright problems around the globe. Take the example of any developed country where it is difficult to protect garment industry from copying fashion. If we look at it from the angle of law, it means that unless garment industry falls into one of the common law category, it cannot be protected. Garment industry portrays artistic craftsmanship. Therefore, case law disfavor cited sort of argument as a string of cases. In this respect, we may refer here to the case of Merlet v Mother Care. The â€Å"artistic" term in the copyright world is not familiar. Hence, a judge requires considering it on aesthetic merit of the work. Under the mentioned circums tances, it is possible to protect fashion related works from the purview of copyright. Contrary to European Union, there is no sui generis design regime in the United States of America; therefore, copyright is the only legal framework to protect original fashion from being stolen. As far as the creative elements and apparel designs are concerned, they fall beyond the ambit of US copyright law since garments and their accessories are treated as ‘useful articles’, hence remain unprotected. We all agree on the point. that clothing is an inherent function, so copyright law has no access on the look and cut of a dress. However, the patterns or the prints can be challengeable in accordance with the mentioned right. US Copyright Protection Act The US copyright protection act is applicable to an expressive original work of a designer affixed visibly in an outfit. It provides exhaustive eight categories of the work of craftsmen against which a copyright act is applied. The perus al of the said act indicates the absence of fashion designs amongst the existing list. It means that both apparels and fabrics designs fall within the ambit of copyright protection act. If we may go through the doctrine of useful articles, it is identified that most apparel designs do not fall within the category of copyright protection act. The other side of the coin is that under EU design law, styles in fashion are specifically excluded from the protection of copyright list (Peter 2007). In order to invoke the jurisdiction of competent court of law under the copyright act, it is incumbent that the work displays originality. The mentioned act debars similar designs, common stripes and colors because they lack originality. It is clear that the copyright protects the artistic side of the product and has nothing to do with its functional aspects. However, where the originality in apparel designs or fabric designs is proved, he or she will receive punishment from the court of law unde r the copyright act (Keymeulen 2012). Before punishing the designers for copying the designs of other designers, several tests are to be conducted to determine the similarity.