BusinessWeek Logo
Retailing March 20, 2008, 5:00PM EST

Put a Patent on That Pleat

(page 2 of 2)

Weitzman filed for—and received—a patent for a shoe buckle Len Irish

Halston couture: From the runway to online sales in a day Karl Prouse/Catwalking/Getty Images



The only way designers can take on the pirates in court is to file for patents, or get copyright protection for aspects of their work that legally can be considered art. Von Furstenberg, whose wrap dresses have been knocked off by various big retailers, is among those who have begun copyrighting fabric patterns. In January she sued Target (TGT) for allegedly copying her "spotted frog" print. Target, known for its cheap-chic designs, stopped selling the dresses. Company spokesman Joshua Thomas says: "It always has been and continues to be the policy of Target to respect the intellectual-property rights of others. We are working with our vendor on this issue and hope it can be resolved."

This piece-by-piece approach has its limits, though. That's why designers have been showing up in Washington to back a proposed Design Piracy Prohibition Act. The bill offers legal protection for as long as three years and covers the entire design, not just aspects of clothing such as fabric patterns. It would impose fines of up to $250,000 or $5 per copy, whichever is higher, on those deemed to have stolen an original design. Von Furstenberg, who is president of the CFDA, says the bill "will encourage more manufacturers to hire designers, increasing the availability of affordable fashion at every price point." But in mid-March, the American Apparel & Footwear Assn., which represents stores and garment makers, came out against the proposal, and now it is stalled on Capitol Hill. Kevin M. Burke, the head of the group, says a piracy law would cause "a litigation nightmare."

Meanwhile, some labels are trying to outmaneuver the pirates. Copycat designs often show up in stores within weeks of a fashion show, while the authentic clothes don't arrive for months. Halston, which is owned by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, is one of those pushing to make its catwalk fashions available right away, on the online retail site Net-a-Porter.com, in hopes that shoppers will choose immediate gratification over price savings.

Weitzman and others are making some of their couture designs a little more haute so pirates can't rip them off at all. For his spring collection, Weitzman created unusually shaped heels for a $299 shoe called the Bowden-Wedge. He is also experimenting with materials such as titanium and steel, which he says are too expensive for the knockoff artists. If they try something cheaper, like painted wood, the heels will snap. "I used to make whimsical and outrageous shoes for display only," Weitzman says. "For the first time, they're becoming part of sellable footwear."


Links

In Defense of Knockoffs

What does "originality" mean in the fashion business? Vanessa Friedman, writing in the Financial Times ("Flattery Will Get You Everywhere," Nov. 17, 2007), presents arguments and opinions of law professors who say that knocking off high-end fashion is a vital part of the creative process for both the copycat and the designer. According to the story, the University of Virginia's Christopher Sprigman and Kal Raustilia of the University of California at Los Angeles believe rampant copying "helps force designers to reinvent themselves, which speeds up the fashion cycle."

I Am My Own Copycat

While many designers are fighting cheaper knockoffs sold in massmarket stores, others are following the lead of Isaac Mizrahi, who in 2003 signed a five-year deal with Target for a low-end line of clothing under his name. Eric Wilson and Michael Barbaro, reporting in The New York Times ("Big Names in Retail Fashion Are Trading Teams," Mar. 8, 2008), list the latest fashion stars who are essentially knocking themselves off to control how stores might interpret their runway designs for lower-end consumers: Dana Buchman for Kohl's, Norma Kamali for Wal-Mart, and Patrick Robinson for Gap.

Jana is the Innovation Dept. editor for BusinessWeek.

Reader Discussion

 

BW Mall - Sponsored Links