New Fashion Design Copyright Bill Introduced in House
Fashion designers have convinced some lawmakers to reintroduce the bill that would give copyright protection to fashion designs. The legislation has gone nowhere over the years, but designers are ever hopeful of putting stores like Forever 21 out out of business.
The Design Piracy Prohibition Act, introduced by Reps. Bill Delahunt (D., Mass.), Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.) and Jerrold Nadler (D., N.Y.), would amend current law to allow companies and designers to register their fashion designs for three years of copyright protection. Apparel, handbags, footwear, belts and eyeglass frames would be covered. The measure would also establish penalties for companies knocking off designs.
"We believe the [bill] addresses the very real problem of fashion piracy," said Steven Kolb, executive director of the CFDA. "Pirates steal American fashion designs, make low-quality copies in Asian factories with cheap labor and import them back into the U.S. to compete with the original designs."
Kolb said the legislation is "badly needed" to give designers some protection and act as a deterrent against companies that knock off their designs.
But Kevin Burke, president and chief executive officer of the AAFA, said: "We're not opposed to protecting products, but it's the process here we are opposed to. The process is cumbersome. The essential driver of fashion is inspiration. This bill outlaws inspiration. Everything a designer comes up with will have to be looked at by legal offices in companies to see whether or not it passes muster."
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The new bill differs from last year's measure, which stalled in Congress. Among the changes are: a new standard for infringement, defined as "closely and substantially similar"; new language that would make it clear reproducing a trend does not infringe on the protection granted in the bill; a provision that exonerates designers who independently create a design that meets the standard of infringement but does so "without any knowledge of the protected design"; a searchable database maintained by the U.S. Copyright Office of all designs filed, and penalties for false representation of $5,000, which cannot exceed $10,000.
Opponents of the bill say it will be impossible to enforce, will stifle design and creativity and will essentially prevent less-affluent consumers from buying inexpensive clothing that even remotely resembles runway designs. Certainly such a law would put a crimp in the marketing plans of stores such as Club Monaco, Forever 21 and H&M. Designers argue that their livelihoods are being destroyed by the fast fashion industry.
