Proposed Legislation Would Provide Copyright-like Protection to Fashion Designs
The Design Piracy Prohibition Act, H.R. 5055, introduced on March 30, 2006, would provide copyright-like protection to fashion designs.
According to its sponsor, the Act would protect fashion designers "by amending the Copyright Act to also include protections for fashion designs. Because the production life cycle for fashion designs is very short, this legislation similarly provides a tailored period of protection that suits the industry - three years. This legislation further establishes damages for infringing a fashion design at the greater of $250,000 or $5 per copy."
Under the proposed law, a "fashion design" is defined as "the appearance as a whole of an article of apparel, including its ornamentation." The term "apparel" means: (a) an article of clothing, including undergarments, outerwear, gloves, footwear, and headgear; (b) handbags, purses, and tote bags; (c) belts; and (d) eyeglass frames. To be eligible for registration, the design owner must apply for registration within 3 months of the date on which the design is first made public.
For a discussion of the current state of the law vis-a-vis IP protection of fashion, see Raustiala, Kal and Sprigman, Chris, "The Piracy Paradox: Innovation and Intellectual Property in Fashion Design" (January 2006). UCLA School of Law Research Paper No. 06-04 Available for download here.